Legacy of the Force: Blastswords of Adumar
by Kidan
Summary: Legacy of the Force AU, starting from the events of Japor. Ben Skywalker and Jysella Horn are caught up in galactic game, which can lead to either a new Empire or more freedoms for everyone in the galaxy
1. Prologue

**Legacy of the Force: Blastswords of Adumar**

_Dramatis Personae_  
Allana Chume Ta'Djo: Hapan princess (female human)  
Ben Skywalker: Jedi Knight (male human)  
Booster Terrik: Captain Errant Venture (male human)  
Cal Omas: Chancellor (male human)  
Cheriss ke Hanadi: Commander, Twin Suns Squadron Alliance Starfighter Command (female human)  
Gavin Darklighter: Admiral Alliance Defense Fleet, Captain Viscount (male human)  
Han Solo: Captain Millennium Falcon (male human)  
Iella Antilles: Head of Correllian Intelligence Service (female human)  
Jagged Fel: Commander, Chiss Expansionary Defense Force (male human)  
Jysella Horn: Jedi Knight, Captain Pulsar Skate (female human)  
Leia Organa-Solo: Jedi Master (female human)  
Luke Skywalker: Former Jedi Grand Master (male human)  
Mara Jade Skywalker: Former Jedi Master, Captain Jade Shadow (female human)  
Mryi Antilles: Correllian Intelligence Service (female human)  
Rtyhmthi'man'kryst: General CEDF (male Chiss)  
Syal Antilles: Lieutenant, Twin Suns Squadron, Alliance Starfighter Command (female human)  
Tahiri Viella: Jedi Knight (female human)  
Tenel Ka Chume Ta'Djo: Hapan Queen Mother (female human)  
Traest Kre'fey: Admiral, SSD Guardian (male Bothan)  
Wedge Antilles: Corellia's Diktat (male human)

_Jedi Council _  
Jaina Solo: Jedi Master (female human)  
Kyp Durron: Jedi Master (male human)  
Tresina Lobi: Jedi Master (female chev)  
Octa Ramis: Jedi Master (female human)  
Tionne Salusar: Jedi Master (female near-human)  
Streen: Jedi Master (male human)  
Leia Organa Solo: Jedi Master (female human)  
Tiu Zax: Jedi Master (female Omwati)  
Dal Kunor: Jedi Master (male human)  
Madurrin: Jedi Master (female Anx)  
Tryia Tainer: Jedi Master (female human)  
Kirana Ti: Jedi Master (female human)

* * *

**Prologue**

Senate Bill 334512-3F.

It is such a simple name. Just by looking at it, one would never guess what troubles it could cause. One would never guess just how many people it would hurt.

That is the trouble with such simple names; they never tell you the truth.

Senate Bill 334512-3F has another name. It is also called the "Military Procurement and Nationalization Act." Yes, a grander name that, but still, the name hides its intent.

The senators who pass such things hide behind these names. They know what they are releasing upon the galaxy by passing this law. They know the legal ramifications of it. Yet they hide behind the name.

Senate Bill 334512-3F has one purpose, and one purpose only. To bring under Federation control every weapons manufacturer and seller in the galaxy. It is a precedent. It is a statement, a declaration, that if the Federation wants what you have, then it belongs to the Federation.

Cal Omas.

It is such a simple name. It is a good Alderaanian name. Just by looking at it, one would never guess at the power it holds. One would never guess just how many people it can hurt, merely by being on the wrong line on a data pad or flimsie.

That is the trouble with such simple names; they never tell you the truth.

Cal Omas has another name. He is the Chancellor of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Yes a grander name that, but sill, the name hides its intent.

Cal Omas knows the legal ramifications of the legislation he has pushed through the Senate. He realizes that the laws he pushes creates taxation, creates regulations, and ultimately creates discontent. Yet he hides behind the simple justification of "for the good of the galaxy."

Cal Omas has many purposes, some of which are at cross-purposes to one another. One purpose is to serve the Federation. Another is to lead it. These are seemingly different concepts, but in actuality are very similar. Yet for all the inherent nobility that Cal Omas has due to his Alderaanian upbringing, he is merely human, and as a human he has a thirst for power.

Intent hides behind these names.

The intent to take.

The intent to gain power.

The intent to socialize a society.

It happens without fanfare. Without flourish. Cal Omas signs his name to Senate Bill 334512-3F, and the fate of billions is sealed. A war has been declared, even if he does not realize it yet. A war between those who believe the Federation should be strong, powerful and centralized and those who believe otherwise.

The war has been declared because Cal Omas has forgotten a simple, yet true thing, the fact that there are many ways that a democratic republic can die. And for every way that a republic can die, there is one thing or person that historians can point to and say "that started it all." In times to come, children will study this period of history, and when they do, their teachers will point to the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act, and say "That started it all."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Tattooine is a desolate planet. It is a ball of silicates, with few native animals, little vegetation, and even less water. Yet even in the bleakest wastes the galaxy and this planet offer, beauty is there for someone willing to take the time to find it.

For Luke Skywalker, the time between first and second twilights, is that beauty. He remembers growing up on this moisture farm, standing in this spot, staring into the distance as these suns set. With a smile he remembers the longing and desire to be off this rock, to be away, out in the wider galaxy doing things.

And for nearly forty years, he did things.

When Luke Skywalker first left this planet, he was an unhappy, grieving youth. Untried, untrained, thrust out into the galaxy long before he was truly ready. He was barely given a glimpse of the Force, before his mentor was taken from him. Trials and troubles have calmed him, given him patience and peace. Marriage has given him joy and contentment and children.

Of course those nearly forty years held pain as well. He gained and lost a father. He lost a hand and then an arm. Wounds, too many to count are in his medical files. Of course the worse pain would have to be that his son was forced to take the Force from him.

It is a scar that will never fully heal. Every second of every day, he longs to once more touch the Force. He longs to feel its warm embrace, just one more time. It is a need that fills every fiber of his being.

That is part of the reason why he loves the setting of the suns. While standing here, at this time of day, watching, he can almost hear the song of the galaxy, he can almost feel the Force again as it hums that eternal song of life.

"Luke! Lu-uke!"

Luke chuckles to himself. _The more things change, the more they stay the same_. "I'm over here."

He turns around, to once more behold beauty.

Before three years ago Mara Jade Skywalker had only spent fleeting moments, small missions and other such things on this planet, yet much like her husband she has found a peace of sorts here. The twin suns have lightened her hair, changing it from the fiery red of when he first saw her, to the color of molten bronze. As striking as the physical changes, are the emotional ones. Gone is the caustic tongue, gone is the fiery temper. In its place is compassion, a soft-spoken manner which the old Mara could never have understood. To Luke, the new Mara reminds him of his Aunt Beru, strong, good-hearted, compassionate, and self-assured.

Mara Jade smiles at him as she finds him standing in his usual spot watching the suns set. Beside her is another Skywalker.

"Daa - Dee!"

The pure delight in the young voice is enough to make both of the adults smile, as a blur of a two-year old rushes to her daddy. Luke bends down to pick up his daughter, the wind whipping her blonde hair around, laughter dancing in her green eyes, as he spins her around.

"How's my little princess?"

"I mades the rock move!"

Padmé Skywalker does not know how much her simple joy at the Force hurts her parents. She cannot understand the pain and feeling of loss that permeates their souls. She is merely happy that she can make the rocks dance.

Two years ago, when Mara told him that she was pregnant again, he wondered at what the Force was thinking. The pain and suffering that he and Mara had been through was still fresh and an open wound in them both.

Yet now, after two years with his little girl, he can understand. She is the soothing balm that is slowly healing their wounds and scars. At least those scars that are healable.

Padmé squirms out of her father's arms, and does a happy little dance, pointing towards the sky, where the first stars are appearing.

"Jella comin' dada, Jella comin'!"

With that simple pronouncement, Luke looks towards the sky as and notices the ship heading towards his homestead. It's a _Baudo_-class star yacht, and as familiar to him as the _Millennium Falcon_ ever was. For the past four years, that ship has been home to his son.

The _Pulsar Skate_ slowly settles to the sand beside Mara's _Jade Shadow_. Luke, Mara and Padmé walk that way, arriving at the _Skate_, just as the ramp settles to the ground. From the depths of the ship, come her owner and their son, walking hand in hand, each with a smile on their face.

Luke does not need the Force to see that these two are in love.

"Jella! Jella! Jellaaa!"

Padmé launches herself at Jysella, who is only to happy to grab her and spin her through the air. Luke watches with amusement, and considers that this young lady might have stolen the hearts of both of his children.

As he stands there, watching Jysella spin Padmé , he feels a hand slap onto his shoulder. "Hi Dad, I've missed you."

"I've missed you as well son."

"How have you been? How's mom? I mean, how is she really?"

Luke turns so that he is able to see his son's eyes. "Actually, Tattooine agrees with us both. The daily tasks of living keep us busy, the amount of work, keeps us happy, and Padmé, well, she keeps us tired. How about you?"

Luke notices as Ben lowers his head ever so slightly. "Things are happening out there, something's coming, and I don't think the Council or the Federation is prepared for it."

"Are you having visions again?"

"No, it's more of just a bad feeling whenever I'm meditating or dealing with the Council, and then there's the scuttlebutt that I hear in outer and mid rim cantinas. Whenever people are talking about the Senate, they speak in odd tones. I think the people out here are actually afraid of what the Federation is becoming."

Luke frowns, and looks toward his wife, noticing that she is heading into the house. "Come on Ben, Your mom has made some dinner, and they've already gone inside."

"Dad, there's just one more thing. This is personal and I need you to keep quiet about it, but I've got to know what you think. I'm. I'm going to ask Jysella to marry me."

As he says this, Ben pulls out a small box, within is a small titanium band, with a corusca gem attached.

"I'm really, really nervous dad. Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"I think only you can decide that. But if your question is do I think Jysella is right for you? I think she is a perfect fit for this family, and I can't think of anyone better for you." Luke smiles as he wraps his real arm around his son. "Now let's go eat some dinner."

"So has Tattooine improved mom's cooking any?"

At this, Luke can only laugh.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The war has been coming for a while now.

Up until now, it had been merely brush fires. Snide comments on the holonews. Outraged essays written by top legal and political minds.

There are unending complaints from the Outer Rim about Coruscant, and there are unending complaints from the Core Worlds about the Expansionist Region. All of the little laws that flow out from Coruscant on a daily basis, a new tax here, a sweeping reform there. Every standard day the bureaucracy grows larger. Every standard day, someone else becomes disenchanted with the Federation.

Yet now the war is here.

Like most wars, it does not start with a bang. It starts with a whimper. It starts with such a small thing, merely a simple order.

The planet Gyndine hangs in space like a jewel. It's a lovely planet awash in the glow of its sun. It has a population of fewer than four billion sentients, seventy percent of who work in some way for the primary corporate owner of this planet.

With a flicker of pseudo-motion, a star ship appears. Like all Mon Calamari designs, this starship is a conglomeration of flowing lines and bubbles. Appearing as much as a sea creature as a powerful warship, she is the _Viscount_, the ship of the line of the _Viscount_-class of star defenders.

The man in charge of this ship and her squadrons of snub fighters is Admiral Gavin Darklighter. Today Gavin Darklighter is not a happy man.

Gavin was raised on Tattooine, a planet where the people who live there, stay for one of two reasons. The first is because they have no way off planet. The second is they are too fiercely independent to go somewhere else.

His thoughts turn dark and surly as he once more reads over the orders found on his datapad. Grimacing he activates an inter-ship comm. "Commander ke Hanadi, Twin Suns is authorized to launch."

Flicking off the comm, he turns to his communications officer. "Ensign Sliah, please contact the Gyndine Shipyards, and get me their CEO or whoever is in charge down there."

Ignoring the ensign's reply, Gavin once more returns his attention to his data pad, reading his orders over once again:

_Admiral Darklighter, pursuant to the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act, you are to proceed to Gyndine at best possible speed. Once there you are to take control of the Gyndine Shipyards manufacturing, research and development facilities. Under Section 5 Paragraph 3, you are allowed to use any means necessary, up to and including deadly force, to ensure the transfer of these facilities to Federation control._

"Sir."

Gavin looks towards the communications officer, not quite able to keep his disgust with these orders off of his face, or resignation from his voice. "Yes ensign?"

"Prime Minister Sliven is on the line."

"Thank you; please transfer it to my station."

Gavin looks once more at his orders, and sighs before activating his comm. "Minister Sliven, this is Admiral Gavin Darklighter, of the Federation Defense Fleet. I regret to inform you that I am authorized and empowered by the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances to seize any and all shipyards, weapons, shields and other military-based manufacturing, research and development facilities. In accordance with the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act, Gyndine Shipyards now belongs to the Federation."

"You cannot do this Admiral! It is an outrage!"

A pained note enters Gavin's voice. "I'm sorry sir, I have my orders. Please don't fight this Minister."

"We will defend ourselves."

"You cannot win."

"That does not matter. We will defend ourselves."

"Then I'm sorry Minister."

With a defeated sigh, Gavin slumps into his command chair and switches off the comm. With a pained expression on his face, he turns to his Starfighter Controller. "Give Commander ke Hanadi the green light. Anyone or anything offering resistance, take out."

Shifting to look at his Ground Controller, he continues "Tell General Neeli, that as soon as Commander ke Hanadi gives an all clear, he is ok for launch, and to proceed to the shipyard's corporate offices and to take control. And please remind him on the necessity of keeping civilian casualties at the minimum level possible."

Leaning back in his command chair, Gavin places his hand over his eyes. When did I stop believing in what I was doing?

The scenario is the same on dozens of planets. A Federation cruiser drops in and takes what it wants.

Any resistance is destroyed.

Any arguments ignored.

Thousands of lives are lost.

On Corellia, the Diktat looks at the reports he is receiving and frowns.

On Eriadu, the Prime Minister looks at the reports she is receiving and throws the datapad at the wall in disgust.

On Adumar, the Perator looks at the reports he is receiving and considers how best to use this to his and Adumar's advantage.

On Sullust, Surrosub's Board of Directors, look at the reports presented to them by a minor manager, and chitter to each other angrily.

On Tattooine, Ben Skywalker is watching the holonet, hearing the reports of the nationalization of the various manufacturing concerns, a frown on his face, and dread in his heart.

Through out the mid and outer rim, there is one thought one every government's mind. Succession.

----------------------------------------

Coruscant. The Jedi Temple.

The bright and shining center of the galaxy. For millennia it has ruled the stars. A giant city-planet which was at one time home to billions upon billions of people.

Today its population is much less than that. The Vong War has left its mark upon this planet. No longer is it home to uncounted billions. No longer is it a giant city. Yet it still is the center of galactic government.

Even the Jedi continue to have their temple there.

The Jedi Temple rises above the buildings and trees surrounding it. It is a towering edifice of glass, stone and durasteel. In the tallest of the towers that grace it, there exists a room. It is a pretty room, a circle; the room takes up nearly the entire area of the tower. There are windows on all the walls but one, which holds the door to the waiting area and turbolift.

Within this room sit the twelve most powerful beings in the Jedi Order. The Council. Twelve different people, from different pasts, all brought together by the Force.

While some Jedi may be more powerful in terms of sheer strength, all obey the decrees handed down by the Council. It could be argued, that these twelve people are the most powerful in the galaxy.

And among these, there is one whose power outshines all the others.

She is Jedi Master Jaina Solo.

All those who have ever seen her, have described her as beautiful. Even during the war, when she was more often in dirty flight suits and covered in grease than clean and in her flowing Jedi robes, the mechanics, pilots and soldiers would stare and watch as she crossed the room.

Today, she is older, with less fire in her veins, more patience, and an introspective outlook on life, which a younger Jaina would never have understood. Life has not been easy for her. Her mastery and control over the Force was not a willing decision, so much as imposed upon her by others, by her brother. He killed some of her best friends. He tortured another one. And he took her eyes from her.

Yet for all the pain and suffering he caused prior to his death, she can still not find it in her heart to hate him. She still misses the boy that she would build cages for.

Jaina Solo sits in one of the twelve Master's chairs, her dark robes pooled around her, her customary veil covering the scars on her face. In the Force she can see the others beside her, their Force presences brilliant and shining.

Then the person they are all waiting on arrives. His Force presence is not as bright as the other masters; it is shaded, tainted, by compromise, stress and exhaustion. But still she smiles for Cal Omas. "Chief Omas, welcome to the Jedi Council, what problems is the Federation facing today?"

"We have heard some disturbing rumors from the Outer and Mid Rims."

"Go on."

"We believe that Adumar is hiding some of their manufacturing plants from us, and selling the ordinance to pirates."

Jaina turns her head slightly as Kyp speaks up. "Well Chief, if the Senate hadn't passed the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act, then this probably wouldn't have happened."

With this, Tresina Lobi feels the need to defend what she sees as a good law. "No Master Durron. If that law had not passed, Adumar would probably still be doing this. We just would not know about it."

Jaina interrupts Kyp before an argument on the law in question can erupt. "Chief, I fail to see exactly what it is that you are wanting the Jedi to do."

She can hear the amusement in his voice. "Master Jedi, I am requesting that a Jedi be sent to Adumar to see if this illegal munitions operation can be found. If so, then it can either be shut down or turned over to the state."

Streen, in what for him is an unusual move, speaks out at this. "And what if us Jedi don't want to do this?"

"You cannot not do this. Prior to his retirement, Master Skywalker made it clear that the Jedi serve the Federation. As servants of the Federation, you must obey the laws of the Federation."

Jaina turns her head towards Kolir Hu'lya as the bothan begins to speak. "You would presume to tell the Jedi what we must do?"

Jaina holds up her hand, forestalling further conversation. Once silence has fallen over the chambers, she queries the others through the Force, taking a vote to see if the Jedi will send a representative to Adumar. As she silently waits for all the masters to chime in, she wonders just what is really happening on Adumar that bothers Cal so much. Finally, a consensus is reached.

She graces Chief Omas with another smile. "Chief Omas, the Jedi will send a representative to Adumar."

"Wonderful1! Might I suggest Ben Skywalker? His handling of the incident on Gotal, speaks highly of his abilities for this type of mission."

"Thank you for coming Chief Omas, fear not, the Jedi will send who we believe to be best suited to this job."

Jaina can feel her mother's distaste as Omas leaves the room. "Now Mom, I know how you feel about politicians these days, but he's really not that bad."

As soon as she finished saying that, the Council erupts into argument. Half of the Masters hate this new law and want nothing to do with it, while the other half believe it a great tool to bring weapons under control. Once more, Jaina wishes that she still had eyes, or even optic nerves where she could be outfitted with droid ones, so that she could watch those in the room around her, rather than feel their impressions through the Force.

Sighing slightly to herself, she raises her voice to be heard over the din. "Which Jedi do we have free, that is able to perform this mission?"

Leia's voice is soft as she replies, "Just Ben and Jysella. They are on Tattooine visiting Luke."

"There are no others?"

"Not unless you want to take Sannah away from the riots on Cacpircous, or tell Doran Tainer to not mediate that mining dispute in the Corporate Sector."

"Fine. Now who gets the joy of telling them we are going to have to cut their vacation short?"

Jaina feels her frustration, as none of the other Masters step forward for this task.

"That's what I figured."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_The Skywalker Homestead, Tatooine._

Ben Skywalker is confused. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he loves her and he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. That is not what is confusing him. What confuses him is how exactly he should ask her to marry him.

Mediating labor disputes? This he can do.

Hunt down a Dark Jedi. This he can do.

Break a couple of the laws of nature. He can even do this.

He has faced the worst in both himself and others, and came out the other side, not necessarily whole and healthy, but alive and stronger.

So he has to wonder, what it is about asking this seemingly simple question that scares him so much.

Finally giving up on his meditations, Ben stands and goes looking for Jysella. He finds her with his sister; both of them sprawled on the floor, with bits of coloring wax and paper all around them. He stands there just watching, thinking how good of a mother she will make one day. He is admiring how her hair seems to bounce with every movement. And he is wondering if it smells like strawberries and honey today.

To be blunt, he is staring.

And she knows.

He watches her as she looks over her shoulder at him, a smile on her lips, and winks at him. He begins to walk into the room, when he hears his mother calling him. "Ben!"

Sighing, he calls out in turn "Yes mom?"

"Jaina needs to speak with you and Jysella."

As soon as those words are out of her mouth, Ben can feel his frustration start to mount. There is only one reason why Jaina would be trying to get a hold of them. She wants them to go do something.

Ben sits down in front of the holonet receiver, with Jysella leaning over his shoulder. He activates it, and there appears Jaina, dressed in her customary robes and veil. He can still feel some of the guilt at her being injured, and Jysella, always in tune with his feelings, leans her head against his, sending him strength.

"So, what mission do you have for us that no other Jedi is available for or can do, regardless of the fact that you promised us a two-month vacation?"

He watches as Jaina's lips curl into a slight smile. "Bitterness does not become you cousin."

"That's why I went on vacation cousin."

"I take it you have heard of the National Military Procurement and Nationalization Act?"

She pauses, obviously waiting for Ben to reply. Ben just stares at the image, being obvious that he has no intention to reply.

"Yes Jaina, we have." As she says this Jysella, gives Ben a pat on the head.

"Okay, well, over the past couple months, the Federation has been enforcing that law, and nationalizing various shipyards and munitions factories. A lot of groups and planets on the Outer and Mid Rims have been protesting these actions. There has been a lot of bloodshed over it actually."

"I still fail to see what you're wanting from us."

"Ben, please give me a chance to tell you. Anyways, Chief Omas believes that Adumar has illegally begun producing weapons and is selling them on the black market. He is worried that if he allows Adumar to get away with this, then other worlds will do the same. He has asked the Council to send a Jedi to Adumar, find out what they're hiding, and if possible stop them, or have them turn the facility over to the Federation. He specifically requested that you handle it."

"Is the Jedi Council taking orders from Omas now?"

"No. We just don't have anyone else to send. Between the wars, and Jacen, we now have more trained Jedi that are dead than we have padawans and knights all together."

"I don't think you understand Jaina, I need this vacation. There is something I have to do before I can return." Ben feels Jys' eyes on him, but he continues to stare at Jaina's image.

"I'm sorry Ben, but the Order needs you to do this. We really have no one else, and you're really the best one for the mission. I'm transmitting the pertinent information to you now. May the Force be with you"  
Instead of answering, Ben jabs the disconnect button angrily, and gets up to pace in a vain attempt to burn off his frustration with the Council.

"Shavit! That manipulative little schutta. She knows that when she words a request that way I can't say no. She does it on purpose."

"Ben, it will be all right. We can continue our vacation after this mission."

"We shouldn't have to though."

"I know. What is it that you needed to do?"

"Well, I…Nothing. It's..nothing. It's just that I. Never mind, I'll do it after this mission."

Sitting back down, he downloads the file to his datapad, and opens it and begins to go over the information. He can feel her staring at him.

"Jella! Come color!"

"Coming Padmé. We've don't have to go just yet do we Ben?"

"No, we'll leave first thing in the morning."

"We won't be running late?"

"So what if we're late? What's the worst they can do? Expel us?"

She laughs, and for the first time since his mom had called him, Ben smiles. "I love you Jys."

"I know." With that and a laugh, Jysella walks into the other room.

Ben silently watches her as she walks from the room, and then turns back to his datapad.

When his dad walks in, Ben looks up at him, letting a scowl settle on his face, "You know Dad; it's your fault that I have this well-developed sense of responsibility that Jaina and the Council can take advantage of."

"I blame your mother."

Ben laughs, the final dredges of frustration and anger slipping away into the Force.

----------------------------------------------------------

_The Corellian System._

The system is an unnatural system. Within it exists five habitable planets, all circling the single primary, only one of those five planets was actually formed there. The other object of note in this system is the Centerpoint Station. The ancient machine which archeologists theorize is responsible for the manufacture of the Corellian System.

Corellia itself is a simple world, much like any other. It has cities and farms, honest people, and those who enjoy breaking the law. There are nicer places to live in this galaxy, but there are plenty of places much, much worse.

The other thing of importance about Corellia, is that it is home to some of the galaxy's greatest heroes. Han Solo, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, and Garm Bel Ibis, all came from Corellia. They fought in the Galactic Civil War and the Vong War. They are heroes beloved by the citizens of Corellia, and by the galaxy at large.

So much so, that the Corellian's even elected Wedge Antilles Diktat.

It was a position that he truly did not want.

What Wedge Antilles wanted was to live on a small farm on the outskirts of Coronet, and watch his children and grandchildren grow. Every day that he walks into the Corellian Governmental Complex, he wonders just how it was that Rostek Horn talked him into running and accepting the position of Diktat.  
That confusion has only grown worse since the passing and implementation of the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act.

Wedge Antilles hates that particular law. The government he fought for was one of personal freedom, one where if someone built a business up from scratch, that business belonged to that person, not the government.

Today, Wedge Antilles is going to throw down the other gauntlet. For weeks now, Federation forces have been moving throughout the galaxy, compelling planets and businesses to cede their holdings to the Federation. Today, Wedge Antilles is going to attempt to put an end to that.

He walks into the Corellian Governmental Complex. It is a towering building, not as stylized or pretty as the Jedi Temple, but large just the same. Within its walls is the Corellian Congress, the legislative body for the entire system.

And it is Wedge's destination this morning.

He walks into the Congressional Chambers, his robes of state giving him a dignity and an air of confidence that he does not truly feel. He walks up the steps to the lectern slowly, stately, a heavy look on his face which matches the one in his heart. With each step he takes, the Congress and those reporters, and the civilian audience grows quieter. When he reaches the lectern, silence reigns.

Then Wedge breaks it.

"Friends, colleagues, fellow Corellians, forty years ago, I helped overthrow a tyrannical government. It was a government that happily took whatever it wanted, slaughtered those it saw fit, and had no concept of justice or mercy. It was the rule of might.

"What replaced it, while it had troubles of its own, believed in the sanctity of life. Believed in the sanctity of liberty, and had a fundamental concept that every being in this galaxy had the right to pursue happiness as it saw fit.

"What I fought for, believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that what a being created, belonged to that being. A cobbler that makes shoes, those shoes belong to the cobbler until the cobbler sells them. The farmer that grows food owns that food until it is time to sell it at the market. The company that makes anything belongs to that company, until the time it determines to sell that product.

"That is the government I fought for. Those are the rights that every being and business in this galaxy should have. Those are the rights I fought for.

"Twenty-seven days ago, Chief Omas signed into law the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. This law called for the seizure of businesses and manufacturing concerns galaxy-wide. It is a bureaucratic nightmare, and socialization on the scale not seen since the fall of the Empire.

"Twenty days ago, a Federation Defense Fleet task force moved against Gynndine, demanding that their Shipyards be turned over to the Federation. When Gynndine inevitably refused to do so, Federation forces took over the planet by force. Seven thousand, four hundred and thirty two men, women and children were killed during that assault. Another ten thousand, seven hundred and three sentient beings of all ages were injured.

"All of this, just so the Federation can control the manufacture of starships.

"I am here this morning, to inform you, the members of the Corellian Congress, and all citizens of the Corellian System, that I have sent a message to the Galactic Senate. Within this message, I gave a deadline of ten days for the revocation of the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act or the Corellian System would secede from the Federation.

"Yesterday at noon, Coruscant time, marked day ten. I come before you, to announce my intentions to withdraw our membership within, and sever diplomatic ties with, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

"Effective immediately, The Corellian System is an independent state."

With those final words, Wedge turns from the lectern and begins to descend the stairs, as chaos erupts within the chambers.

Wedge arrives at his office, and enters, belatedly noticing another person within. He pulls his blaster just as the person at the desk flips a light on.

"You know you almost got shot don't you?"

Han Solo leans forwards and smirks. "That's half of the fun. Course, you're the one that has Omas' shorts in a twist."

"Why's that?"

"Simple, he can't let Correllia secede. It sets a bad precedent."

Wedge walks over to his bar; band pours himself a glass of Whyrren's Reserve, offering Han one as well.

"Political advice?"

"Actually this comes from Leia. Apparently, a little birdie told her about your letter to the Senate, so she sent me out here to warn you, or try to stop you, something like that."

"A little late for the stopping."

"Sorry kid, I happen to agree with you. What Omas is doing is wrong."

"Even if it puts you in opposition to your wife and Jaina?

"You're in the same boat."

With this, Wedge grimaces. "Remind me."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Adumar.

It is a planet of fierce emotions, and strong loyalties. Concepts espoused by the galaxy at large, the little thing such as respect for life, are still relatively new here. While the galaxy around them may hold Jedi in high esteem, on Adumar, if you are not a fighter pilot, you're just not worth that much.

The small man rushes from his office. He wears the customary Adumari blastsword, as well as the wide belt, and brimmed hat which have come back into fashion. His hair is long and dark, and his face clean shaven. He looks just what he is, a bureaucrat.

He is Cellanth de Olean, a simple man, a pilot for a number of years; he joined the Adumari Air Forces about two years after Adumar was admitted into the New Republic. He remembered the day when Cartann fell, though he was barely out of his childhood then.

Today is a special day for him; he is getting to meet the Perator of Adumar.

He enters the chambers of the Perator, and awaits acknowledgement.

"Ah, Cellanth my friend, I have a small task for you."

"Anything my Perator."

"We are to be visited by two Jedi. They seek information on some of our hidden manufacturing assets. It is up to you to discourage them from finding those assets, in any way possible."

The Perator lifts his hand towards a man standing in the corner, his cloak is pulled up, hiding a good portion of his features, but he is tall, and obviously human.

"This is one of my advisors, his name is Argor. He will be your point of contact and direction on all things relating to the Jedi. Now, you will put them up in the suite at the Hotel Cartanna, and invite them to the ball this evening. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Perator."

"Good, the Jedi should be arriving soon. You are dismissed."

Cellanth scurries from the room, not noticing the smile that appears on Argor's lips.

The _Pulsar Skate_ drops out of hyperspace, and swings into orbit around Adumar. At her helm Jysella, confidently controls the ship as she gets final clearance for landing. Ben is once more enjoying just watching Jysella as she deftly controls the _Skate_, maneuvering her to a soft landing in their specified spot.

As they walk down the ramp, they are met by some minor dignitary He is dressed in typical Adumari fashion, with flowing cloak, a large belt and a blastsword hanging at his hip.

He bows to the two young Jedi. "Master Jedi, you are both well come to Adumar. I am Cellanth de Olean, Under Minister of Foreign Affairs, and have been instructed by my Perator to be your guide and companion during your stay."

Ben frowns as Jysella speaks, "Thank you Under Minister. But our mission is one of fun, a vacation, so if you will direct us to a nearby hotel that will be all we need."

"A vacation, yes, but it is not every day that Adumar is visited by Jedi, especially ones as highly placed as the Jedi's Skywalker and Horn. The Perator merely wishes that you be well taken care of during your stay. And I cannot be against the will of my Perator."

"As you wish Under Minister, but please remember that Jysella and I are here for a vacation."

"Yes, a vacation, as you said, now if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the Hotel Cartanna."

With that, the man turns on his heel and begins walking towards the city; Ben, Jysella and Whistler follow closely behind. They finally arrive at the hotel; it seems dwarfed by the governmental buildings surrounding it, and is of a distinctly different architecture. A sheer faced building, where all the others they had seen held balconies on every floor.

Jysella's curiosity gets the better of her. "Under Minister, why are there no balconies on this building?"

"I never noticed. I will have to find that out for you."

Cellanth turns from the two Jedi, and then spins back to face them. "Oh! I almost forgot. My Perator has acquired the suite for you use during your stay."

Jysella, ever the diplomat, smiles at him as she takes the room keys. "Thank you Cellanth."

"Now, I'll take my leave of you, here is my comm number in case you have need of me, and the Perator wishes to invite you to a banquet that he is throwing at the palace tonight at 1900 hours."

"Is the concept of a vacation so foreign here?"

"I know - and am sorry Jedi Skywalker - but as I said, I am merely the hand piece of the Perator. I will arrive at 1830 to collect you. Confusion to your enemies."

Ben and Jysella watch as the man scurries away, a hurry to his step. Then turn and go inside the hotel.

They get into the lift, and are kissing as soon as the doors close.

Ben chuckles as she pushes him away and starts to straighten her hair and clothing again. "You're incorrigible!"

He leans in close, giving her his best Uncle Han grin and replies, "Part of my charm."

"Ben, I love you, but you're no Han Solo."

"Am I at least a run-of-the-mill Corellian?"

"Nope."

Ben sighs as Jysella giggles and leans in close. "But as I said, I love you."

The lift doors open, and the pair step off and go to their room.

They open the door to their suite, and Ben lets out a low whistle.

Jysella looks around the ornate room and says "Wonder what we did to deserve rooms like this?"

Ben laughs. "Didn't you hear the Under Minister; we're the 'highly-placed Jedi Skywalker and Horn.'"

Ben opens one of the doors. "I found the refresher. I think it's about the size of the _Skate_."

------------------------------------

Ben is sitting in the common room of their suite. Fidgeting. Glancing at the chrono, he calls out once more,

"Jys are you ready yet? The Under Minister will be here in moments."

Then she steps out of her room. She's wearing a strapless, black dress that adheres to her form, with a slit up the thigh, and a simple diamond chocker pendant around her neck. Her hair is curled, with some piled on top of her head, and the rest cascading down her back. A smile begins to tug at the corner of her lips.

For his part, Ben stares.

Her smile dazzles him, as she walks closer to him. "You're staring Ben."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you going to stop?"

"Uh-huh."

"When?"

By this time, she's standing right in front of him, a small smile crosses her lips, as his eyes darts down and then back up to her face.

"Uhm, never?"

She laughs slightly, as the chime announcing a guest goes off, startling Ben.

Jysella walks over and opens the door, allowing Under Minister de Olean to enter. He performs a sort of half-bow and smiles at her. "Jedi Horn, you surely art a vision this evening."

"Thank you Under Minister."

"Now, if you both will follow me, I will escort you to the ball."

Ben's head shoots around at that. "Ball? I thought you said banquet?"

"My apologies Jedi Skywalker, in the excitement of meeting the two of you, I may have misspoken earlier today. It is definitely a ball."

"Great. A dance."

Jysella turns towards Ben, mischief sparkling in her eyes. "Am I such a horrible dance partner?"

Ben's reply is cut off by a cough from the Under Minister. "My apologies Master Jedi, but if we are to not be late, then it would be best if we left for the ball now."

Jysella shoots Ben a smirk. "No apologies needed Under Minister, we're right behind you."

They walk up to the palace, and the de Olean turns towards Ben and Jysella. "This is where I must leave you. You will be announced, and expected to pay your respects to the Perator. I am at your convenience if you have need of anything.

Ben watches as the man walks off, and then turns to Jysella, does a half-bow and offers her his arm. "So Master Jedi, shall I escort you to the dance?"

She smiles at him as she takes his arm. "Only if you promise to not step on my feet this time."

"Hey, I know how to dance."

"Keep telling yourself that Skywalker."

As they enter the room, the porter stands and bellows. "Announcing the Pilot and Jedi Knight Jysella Horn, escorted by Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker!"

The pair stands at the top of the stairs for a moment, as those already gathered stop and turn to stare.  
As they begin to walk down the steps, Ben whispers, "Why this is comfortable."

Jysella suppresses a giggle and whispers a reply. "Hush Ben. You'll get us in trouble."

"You think that'll get us expelled from this?"

The pair reaches the floor and conversation picks up once more. They thread their way through the crowds until they come face to face with the Perator of Adumar. Ben looks at the man, and frowns slightly. He appears to be about forty standard years old, with black hair and blue eyes set in an aristocratic face. He can hear Jysella beside him talking.

"Thank you for the invitation to this ball Perator, but we're really just trying to spend a few days enjoying various worlds without all the pomp and circumstance our position usually requires."

"Ah, yes, de Olean did say that your visit was for mere play. A vacation if memory serves. I still would be remiss if I did not extend the hospitalities of Adumar to two of the Federation's Jedi. After all, Jedi are always well come to visit our lovely and peaceful planet."

Ben speaks up at this. "And we are immensely grateful for your hospitality Perator; the rooms you provided are wonderful. Thank you."

"It was nothing Jedi Skywalker, now, please, enjoy the festivities. If you have need of anything, do not hesitate to contact de Olean."

Jysella graces him with her smile. "We shall Perator."

They both give the Perator a slight bow, and wander off to dance.

The Perator watches them for a moment, and then beckons for his advisor to come closer. "Argor, what do you know of these two?"

"Not much, my Perator. Stories tell that the two of them were involved in the slaughter of Jedi about three years ago. How and why was never really explained. What is known is that Jedi Skywalker was left without a Master, Jedi Horn without parents, and that Jedi Skywalker's parents suddenly retired from the Council and more or less disappeared from galactic politics."

"Do you truly believe that these two pose threat to my manufacturing concerns?"

"Of that I have no doubt. If they were sent here to out those facilities, then they will probably do so. These two are some of the more meddlesome of the Jedi. They have a habit of finding their way into places that they are not wanted. To make matters worse, since Jedi Horn is the only surviving grandchild of Booster Terrik, most of the Fringe refuses to fight against her. They figure going peacefully is a better solution than facing Terrik's wrath if one of them hurts or kills her."

"Do we have some of the Fringe on-planet that would not be against….disciplining Jedi Horn?"

"I believe we have some."

"Good. I want them both dealt with."

With a wave of the hand, the Perator dismisses Agnor, and misses entirely the cold, calculating smile that appears on his face.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After a few hours of dancing, the pair finally determines that it has been enough time to leave the social function without offending the Perator or his court. They begin the short walk back to their hotel.

Jysella looks up at Ben. "So what did you think of the Perator?"

"Oh, he knows why we're here."

She frowns. "Why do you say that?"

Ben stops walking, and looks around. Noticing for the first time that the street they are on is darkened and deserted.

He reaches down for his lightsaber as a small silver ball comes rolling towards them. Ben takes one look at it, and grabs Jysella's hand and starts running the other way. He pushes at the ball with the Force, trying to send it away from them, but as soon as it starts going the other direction it detonates.

The blast picks them up and flings them further down the street. Jysella can feel him wrapping the Force around her, and she curses his instinctive protectiveness.

As they roll to the stop on the ground a dozen or so meters from where they started, Jysella stands up and looks down at her dress. Or rather she looks down at the remains of it. Just patches of black cloth held together by random strings. She glances down at Ben, noticing a slight gash in his forehead. Gently probing with the Force she realizes that their attackers are coming to finish the job. Straightening, she looks around.

Three men walk up from the shadows. One of them is dressed in typical Adumari fashion, garish clothes and a dark over-cloak. The other two wear more standard spacer fare, one dressed in blue, the other red. All have blasters and blastswords on their belts.

The first one looks her up and down, appraising her current state of dress. "Well, well guys, what have we here?"

The second one's face twists into a leer. "I'm not sure, but she sure is dressed nice."

Fire flashes in her green eyes. "This was my mother's dress."

As she says that, she reaches down to her waist, and realizes that her lightsaber is not there. She looks towards the three men, and notice that the one in red has hers, and the one in blue has Ben's.

The first one pulls out his blastsword, and thumbs it on, his grin taking on a menacing quality. "Be nice girl, and we won't have to hurt you too much. Who knows you might even like it."

She takes a step back, and they begin to walk towards her. Then she darts forward, towards the man with the drawn blastsword.

A quick jab to the neck of the first guy, and he's gasping for breath. She grabs his blastsword arm, and twists the wrist until it breaks and he drops the sword. As she catches the falling sword, her foot flashes out and breaks his kneecap.

She slams the guard of the blastsword into his head, immediately behind the ear, and he falls to the ground. He lays there unmoving, his cloak covering his body.

She falls back into a mid guard as the other two draw their blastswords. She smiles as they rush forward.  
She dances out of the way, catching red's sword on the guard of hers, and plants her foot in the stomach of the man in blue. She quickly spins and swipes the feet out from beneath him, dumping him to the pavement.

She spins back to red and touches the tip of her blastsword to his right leg. With a loud pop, that man is laying on the ground screaming and clutching his leg. She frowns at him, and quickly kicks him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

With a slight warning buzz in the Force, she swings her sword laterally, intersecting blue's blade once more. The pressure of his blow releases, and she turns towards him, and parries his blow once again.  
Jysella smiles sweetly at him. "Behind you."

The man barks a laugh at her. "What do you take me for girlie?"

Jysella just laughs as Ben spins the man around and punches him hard in the stomach. As he kneels at Ben's feet throwing up, Ben calls his saber to his hand. He flips the handle around, so that the end holding the power supply is sticking out of his fist.

"That's my girl you were hitting on."

With that said, he slams the butt of his saber against the man's head, who promptly crashes to the ground unconscious.

He looks at her. "You all right?"

"I was doing fine all by myself."

"I know. I just couldn't let you have all the fun."

"And what's this 'my girl' stuff?"

"I'm protective?"

She smiles at him. "Chauvinist"

He laughs. "Blame my dad."

Ben bends down, and searches the unconscious forms for identification. He turns once more towards Jysella, taking in her form, and then removes one of their cloaks. He wraps her in it and kisses her cheek.

"What didn't you like my outfit?"

"Oh, I liked it plenty, but I'm a chauvinist remember?"

She pulls the cloak tighter around her as they once more head to the hotel, their senses alert, and ready for danger. They arrive at their rooms without further complications and Jysella quickly shrugs out of the cloak.

"Ugh, that thing stinks."

Ben smiles are the amount of skin the remains of her dress shows. "Well it's better than having you walk into the lobby wearing the few remaining threads of your dress."

She looks at him, tears in her eyes. "You know this used to be one of my Mom's dresses."

He walks over and pulls her into a tight hug. "I know, and I'm sorry."

An old sorrow crosses his eyes, as he remembers all that she has lost due to Jacen and the fire the night her parents died. Kissing the top of her head, he whispers into her hair. "I wish I had been there sooner that night."

She looks up at him, the tears silently falling down her cheeks. "I trust the Force. Besides something good did come from that night; I found you."

------------------------------------------

The _Viscount_, in orbit around Gynndine

Gavin Darklighter stares at the holo image of his superior officer. The bothan did not appear overly intimidating at a mere four inches tall, but Gavin knows better than to underestimate Admiral Bwua'tu.

"Admiral Darklighter, how goes the efforts to federalize the Gynndine Shipyards?"

Gavin grimaces. "They are nominally under our command sir, though there is still some local resistance."

"That is fine. Prepare for redeployment. The _Allegiance _will be coming on-station there, and you are to head at flank speed to the Adumar system. You will not enter the system, but wait outside of it, until you receive word from Jedi Skywalker, Jedi Horn or myself. Any questions Admiral?"

"Yes, what exactly is our mission there?"

"Support. The two Jedi are on planet attempting to locate an illegal manufacturing concern. If they find it, they may need help in convincing the Perator of Adumar to obey the law in turning the manufacturing plant over to the Federation."

"Sir, I must once more iterate my dislike of these orders."

"I know Admiral, but they still stand. These come directly form Chief of State Omas."

"Yes sir, is there anything else?"

"No. Admiral Bwua'tu out."

Gavin leans back in his seat and sighs. He punches a command into his terminal and then pulls out a bottle of Whyren's Reserve, pouring himself a glass. As he puts the bottle away, the door chimes. "Come"

He gives her a smile as she walks in.

He has known her for a decade now, and in that time has come to enjoy her companionship and friendship. She is Cheriss Ke Hanadi, a native of Adumar, and a fine pilot and squadron commander.

He leans back in his chair. "You're wondering why I brought you here?"

"Yes sir."

"We're going to Adumar. It will probably end up being a repeat performance of what we did here at Gynndine. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

She doesn't answer right away. "Honestly sir, I had a problem with what we've done here. Of course I'll have issues with it being done to my home planet. Our prime exports are munitions and capital grade explosive devices."

He runs his hand through his goatee, considering her answer. "Do I need to take you off line?"

She shakes her head. "No sir. I belong with my squadron."

He watches her a moment longer before making up his mind. "Very well. Return to your squadron."

She salutes and spins from the room, Gavin silently wishing he could do the same. As he gives the new orders to the helm, Gavin once more wonders when he stopped believing in what he was fighting for. When did it stop being for the betterment of the galaxy and become merely a fight for the Federation.

Sighing, he activates the holocube on his desk, and watches the images of his family that appears. Wondering if what he is doing is the right thing, knowing deep down in his soul that it is not.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Adumar

Ben is walking down the street; he wears a cloak draped over his body, hiding his face and lightsaber from view. He can feel something wrong in the Force. He can feel something that is on this planet that should not be here. Frustrated, he begins to once more walk back to the hotel where he is staying with Jysella.

His mind has drifted back to the attack on them a few days ago, an attack which could possibly have succeeded. He suddenly stops a sense of unease rushing into his mind. Quickly looking around, he notices that the street around him is once more deserted, and he curses his own wondering thoughts.

With a flash, his danger sense directs his attention towards the row of buildings across the street from him.. From the darkened alleys there, three men with blast swords drawn jump out and circle him.

Ben laughs. "Oh you guys just made my day."

With a smile, he pulls his lightsaber and ignites it. The first man steps in and swings his blast sword. Ben flips his saber around, fully intent upon slicing the weapon in two. Yet as his saber hits the sword, Ben can feel something wrong in the saber; feel that something is happening in the power loop.

Ben watches in amazement as his saber sputters and dies.

Looking up at the man in front of him, noting his malicious smile, Ben says the first thing that comes to mind. "Uh-oh."

He jumps out of the way as the man swings his blastsword once more. Ben quickly steps into the first ring and hits him in the stomach, and swings his lightsaber against the back of the guys head.

Stepping over the inert body, Ben re-ignites his saber, and raises it to block the blastsword. To be rewarded by his lightsaber sputtering and dying once more. Ben starts to back pedal, but trips over the unconscious man, and his attacker quickly darts in, pressing the tip of the blast sword to the forearm of Ben's sword arm.

A loud pop, a puff of smoke, and Ben is screaming. He calls his saber to his other hand, and ignites it, stepping into the mid-guard, and swings, aiming not for the blast sword, but for the elbow.

With a scream, that man is holding the stump of his severed arm, staring at Ben.

Ben twirls, placing his saber into the path of a blastsword, only to watch it sputter and die once again. The final attacker quickly raises his blade again, and Ben switches hands, nearly dropping the saber in the process. Keeping his blade off, Ben throws up his left hand and catches the blast sword as it drops towards him. With a flick of his wrist, the man is left holding just the smoking hilt.

The man takes the hilt and shoves it into Ben's face, an arc of electricity, jumping across shattering his concentration and temporarily blinding him.

When the white glare is gone, Ben looks around, and does not see or feel that final attacker anywhere. Sighing, he bends down to one of the others, and starts slapping his face.

The attacker slowly wakens, and tries to scoot back from Ben.

Ben smiles, and ignites his saber. "Tut tut, my good friend. You attacked me, so now I can get some questions answered."

Ben can feel the man's fear, and with the Force pushes harder on that fear.

"It's a job! That's all it was. Some man in a black cloak hired us to hurt you and the lady you've been seen with." He looks away from Ben. "And kill you both if possible."

Ben frowns, and can feel the man's fear grow even greater. "One chance to redeem yourself - do you know anything about new munitions plants?"

The man shakes his head no, and Ben graces him with a malicious grin and raises his saber. "Then what good are you to me."

"Wait! Wait! I heard about a new plant that's paying premium labor rates over on the far side of Cartann City."

"What are they manufacturing?"

"They won't say, and the people who work there won't tell either."

With a quick hand wave, Ben leaves the man sitting there, intent upon finding an honest profession and to do something positive with his life.

-----------------------------------------------

Ben walks into the room, and calls out to Jysella. Frowning when no one answers, he slips out of his cloak and opens the door to her bedroom. Stepping from the lighted common area of their suite into her darkened room, he is effectively light-blinded. He takes a second step into the room, and can feel his connection to the Force just vanish. With a gasp, he starts to backpedal as the room's lights come on, and there are three men standing around the room, with Jysella bound, gagged and unconscious on her bed.

One of the men raises a blaster and fires at Ben, who is dodging even as the blaster is being raised. Yanking out his saber, he quickly closes the distance to the shooter, and plunges his saber into the man's heart.

Growling, he swings his saber up, and slices through the ceiling and where he hopes the ysalamiri is at on the floor above them. Cursing as the Force nullifying field does not drop, Ben dives to the other side of the bed, as blaster bolts start shooting at where he was. With a quick slash, the man on this side of the bed is on the ground howling, missing the bottom half of both legs.

He shuts down his saber, and stands flinging it at the remaining attacker. Smiling as his aim is true, and the saber hilt smashes in the man's nose. The man drops his blaster and reaches for his nose which has begun bleeding profusely. Ben is up and over the bed once again, his fist quickly following the saber's trajectory. As he reaches that man, he slams his fist against the man's hands, further hurting the already broken nose.

Bending over and picking up his saber, he notices the man without legs, still moving. He rights himself, and kicks the man with a broken nose in the side of the head, sending him into unconsciousness. Then walking around the side of the bed, he ignites his saber and plunges it into that man's shoulder, allowing that final injury to push him over the edge into shock and unconsciousness.

Picking Jysella up, he carries her into the common area, and as soon as he steps from her room, he can feel the return of the Force. He carefully lays her on the couch, and touches her forehead, sending Force energy to her, trying to awaken her from the drug induced coma.

He smiles as her eyes flicker open. "How're you feeling?"

She makes a slight groaning noise as she raises her hand to her head, a flicker of pain flashing in her eyes. "I'm all right, I think."

Then suddenly they both gasp as the Force is once more removed from them. Cursing under his breath, Ben pulls his saber and cuts a large circle into the floor, angling it so that it won't just fall down. Shooting her a grin, he says, "Some vacation huh?"

He is relieved as she smiles back at him. "Yes. You take me to all the best places."

He helps her stand, and then drops through the hole into the room beneath theirs. A second later Jysella is landing on the floor beside him. "What now, Hero-boy?"

Smiling, Ben cuts another hole in the floor and one in each wall, and then opens the window. He steps up on the windowsill, a grin stretching his features. "Ready to jump?"

She watches him a second. "You're enjoying this!"

As he falls away to the ground, she can hear his laughter, and quickly follows him out the window. She can feel him wrap her in a Force hug, slowing her descent, and she lightly lands on the ground next to him. She kisses his cheek. "Thanks, but you're still enjoying this."

"I deny nothing."

As they calmly begin walking away, the floor of the hotel which held their rooms exploded, the Force of the blast, tossing them both against the wall of the building across the street. As they pick themselves up from the ground, Jysella looks out towards the spaceport. "They've better have done nothing to the _Skate_."

"I'm sure whoever is behind these attacks is not quite that suicidal. I'm fairly certain word of what happened to that ship thief on Kuat – the one who tried breaking into her – has spread this far already."

"I lose my temper one time, and never hear the end of it."

"It's not so much the losing your temper, as the fact that you had him running through the spaceport naked, singing the Corellian Anthem, and from what I understand, he strips his clothes off and destroys them in the closest incinerator every time he attempts to steal something these days." With a smile on his face, he glances at her. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that particular behavioral trait he picked up after his run-in with us would you?"

"You knew about that! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought that the compulsion was hidden better than that." Throwing a quick glance around her, she lowers her voice. "There're more folks coming in."

"I didn't actually know it was you, I just heard about his behavior later." Then he lowers his voice to match hers. "I know; they've been following us for a block or so now."

"Following? But the ones I felt are coming from in front of us."

As she finishes speaking, a group of Adumari soldiers step out from the corner, their blasters raised and leveled at the pair. The sound of shuffling feet and safety catches being disabled, and Jysella turns to face another group of soldiers.

She presses her back against Ben's. "How did we let them capture us? We're smarter than this."

"Obviously we're not."

"Okay, let me rephrase, I'm smarter than this."

Ben laughs, and then a soldier steps out from the group, attracting his attention. "By order of the Perator, the Jedi Knights Ben Skywalker and Jysella Horn are to be arrested for crimes against Adumar."

Ben focuses the Force on the leader. "We are not the ones you're looking for."

"They're not-" The man shakes his head. "Wait a second, that's resisting arrest. Fire at will boys."

Ben and Jysella both ignite their sabers, sending the blasters back towards the guards. Ben quickly falls into a simple rhythm of moving his saber and blocking shots, his blade a web of energy returning the bolts back towards the person that shot at him. Slowly but surely Ben and Jyeslla start making a dent in the soldiers, as the number of disabled soldiers on the ground increases.

Then his concentration is shattered as Jysella screams. Taking a quick glance down, he sees her holding her leg, where a nasty burn is showing.

Then Ben moves.

Calling Jysella's blade to his hand, Ben uses the Force to push his speed up, and is amidst the soldiers, his blades a blur, removing limbs and slicing torsos indiscriminately, no longer caring about not causing death. Then locking the sabers in the on position, he throws them both at the other set of soldiers. Using the Force, he guides the blade in a deadly dance, removing the threat to Jysella.

He calls the blades back to his hands, and then rushes to her side, kneeling down as she looks up at him, a pained smile playing on her lips. "Please, next time, can we be smarter than that?"

He returns her smile. "I thought you already were."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Needles.Tatooine.

_Tahiri. Tahiri!_

She sits up suddenly, he eyes narrowing in the darkness looking around for whoever called her name. Seeing no one in her tent, she quickly wraps herself up in her robes, and steps out, softly honking a greeting at the camp's sentry.

_Over here, Tahiri._

She turns in the direction from which she hears the voice, wondering who would be suicidal enough to get this close to a Tusken Raider camp. As she rounds a large stone, she sees Anakin sitting there, smiling at her, like he doesn't have a care in the world. Her mouth drops open in shock, and she is not sure if she should run to him to give him a hug or to hit him.

Finally her mouth remembers the ability to speak "Why didn't you visit me earlier?"

He just shakes his head. _No time for that now. Your time on Tatooine is almost over, go see Uncle Luke._

"Master Luke? I don't want to leave Tatooine though. I've found peace here."

_Yes Uncle Luke. He's taken over the family moisture farm just outside of Anchorhead. Go there, and talk to him._

"Anakin, I'm almost happy here. Please don't ask this of me. Don't ask me to give up my family once again."

_You must do this. You are a Jedi Knight. Here take this._

He holds out a cylinder, which she grasps, and lifts to see a lightsaber hilt. Activating it, an indigo blade shoots forth, a purple as deep as the Tatooine night just before first sunrise, a blade just a few shades darker than the one he welded in his final days. Extinguishing the blade, she looks closer at the hilt, recognizing it immediately. She looks back up at him as she says, "Anakin, this is your blade."

His smile is bittersweet. _Family tradition, you are a Jedi - and in need of the weapon of a Jedi._

"I can't do this without you Anakin. I can't…I can't be a Jedi; I can't do what everyone expects of me."

She watches as Anakin looks over his shoulder, frowning at something she cannot see. Then he looks back to her, a strange look in his eyes, one she has never seen before. The only term she can use to describe it is fear. There is an urgency to his voice that was not there before. _You can do this – you were always strong, even though no one noticed. You were even stronger and wiser than me. Please Tahiri, do this, you can and you must. Remember that I love you and the Force will be with you always._

As she goes to reply, she watches as his appearance is slowly shredded. A feeling of fear and horror pulses through her as she can hear his screams echoing through her mind.

The Force itself cries out in violation.

And Tahiri gasps, her back arching from the abruptness with which she is propelled from the meditation trance, a scream on the tip of her tongue, one which she is just able to bite back to the coppery taste of blood. She looks around the tent, cataloging where everything is, her breathing hard, and her heartbeat too fast. She closes her eyes and focuses on the Force, slowing her heart rate, evening out her breathing.

Opening her eyes once more she glances down and notices the saber sitting in front of her. The pieces that she had brought into the tent with her, now completed into a blade, a weapon worthy of her Jedi heritage, a weapon with a hilt that looks exactly like Anakin's. Picking the saber up, she activates it allowing the familiar thrumming noise bring a smile to her face, noticing that the krayt dragon pearl has given the blade a rich indigo coloring. She quickly shuts off the saber, trying to push the vision from her mind.

She quickly dresses and leaves her tent, standing amongst her people as the first rays of Tatoo 1 crest the horizon. As she stares out at the sunrise, she can hear Anakin's voice once more. _You are a Jedi Knight._

Turning from the rising sun she seeks out her father, to tell him that she must once more leave the tribe - to leave Tatooine. She must once more walk the outlands as a Jedi. She must once more sacrifice her peace to the Force.

--------------------------------------

Office of the Chancellor, Coruscant

Cal Omas is watching the sun set from his office window, a great expanse of transparisteel, which gives him a panoramic view of the cityscape, and the Jedi Temple off in the distance. A ding from the opposite end of the office attracts his attention and he turns that way to watch as his advisors walk in.

First in, is a Calibop named Tetithem Moorisom, his golden feathers wrapped around his blue robes. He is Omas' Secretary of State. As he enters, he ruffles his feathers in greetings, and then bows to Cal Omas.

"Chancellor."

Next comes Lu Oddis, a Rodian, he has been on Cal's staff for a decade now, and is entering his fifth year as the Chief of Staff. As he enters he quickly nods his green tinted head, causing his navy blue robes to rustle.

Finally enters Ka Dann, an old friend of Cal's, one that Cal made his secretary of defense a few years after the end of the Swarm Wars. Ka Dann's short stature and wiry bread hides a brilliant analytical and strategic mind. As he enters he smiles at Cal, and Cal is happy to have his friend here with him in these troubling times.

Cal gestures for his advisors to sit at the couch and drops into an overstuffed arm chair. "Reports please."

Tetithem raises one of his prehensile feather tips, tapping it against the side of his beak. "The Outer and Mid Rims are experiencing some rioting due to the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. Ketaris in particular was bad, the university there ended up being shut down for three days."

"We expected some riots. Lu your report?"

Lu shakes his head. "The nationalization of the shipyards on Gynndine is proceeding perfectly, and Mer-Sonn munitions is 40 nationalized, we're expecting to have our staff running all operations there by the end of the year."

Cal nods his head. "Good. Ka?"

Ka smiles once more. "The pacification efforts across the worlds of the newly nationalized weapons manufacturers have proceeded with acceptable losses. We have moved an attack group to just outside of Adumar to support the Jedi there. The only thing of note is the Corellian System."

Cal leans back in his chair, looking over his advisors one by one. "What about the Corellian System?"

"The situation is like this," Tetithem answers. "Diktat Antilles sent that letter to the Senate, demanding that the Senate repel the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. He threatened secession if the Senate failed to do so."

"And what has come of this?"

Ka looks around the room. "He informed the Corellian Congress this morning that they were seceding."

"What!" Cal finds himself standing, his frustration and blood pressure rising. "That arrogant fighter jock!"

He turns to his advisors noticing that Lu and Tetithem are looking at one another, a slightly scandalous look upon their faces, while Ka is smiling up at him. Basking in Cal's anger.

"What are we doing about this?"

"We have two options; the first is to let them secede."

Cal interrupts. "And the second?"

Ka's smile is once more upon his face. "The second is we send a battle group in and force them to stay with the Federation."

"Who shall we send?"

Ka's smile turns feral. "Kre'fey and the Bothans? There has long been bad blood between them and Antilles, maybe this will appease them, and direct their attention from their Arkrai of the Vong."

Cal nods his head. "Okay, let us send Kre'fey and assign him Fleet Group 2. Also, have Admiral Darklighter prepared to go there if Jedi Skywalker does not need him on Adumar."

-----------------------------------------

_Viscount_, Deep Space, Two Parsecs from Adumar

Lieutenant Syal Antilles, Twin Suns Nine, is not a happy woman. She had recently received a message from her mother that her father was considering having Corellia secede from the Federation. Now she was receiving a real-time two-way message from her.

Syal frowns as she rushes to where she is allowed to take the call. She considers herself a simple girl, one who would much rather be in her cockpit vaping the enemy than the political-style analysis which her sister always prefers.

She quickly arrives at the communications center and enters the privacy booth, activating the sound dampeners almost automatically.

With a flash of static, a three inch high hologram of her mother appears, and Syal can't help but smile at her. "Hi mom, what brings this call on?"

"Bad news I'm afraid. Remember that letter I sent you a few days ago?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's happened."

"What?"

"Your father declared that the Corellian System was no longer a part of the Federation."

Syal begins to absently chew on a fingernail. "Can he do that?"

"Yes and no. According to the Articles of Constitution, then yes the system can secede, but we're all fairly certain that the Federation will send in the Defense Fleet to quell what Omas will see as a rebellion." Iella looks down at her hands for a second, and then turns her attention back to Syal. "We're asking you to come home to Corellia."

Syal unconsciously draws back from the hologram. "And leave my commission?"

"Yes. Syal, they'll throw you at us, maybe not in the first wave, but you will be coming here, to fly against us. I want, we want, you home with us, standing with us."

Syal shakes her head, not believing her mother in this. "No, High Command would never be so cruel as to do that. I'll stay here with my commission."

Even at three inches high, Syal can see the dejection and sadness in her mother's posture. "I hope that you're right in this, while I'm not. I've got to go and call your sister. I love you, Syal."

"I love you to, mom."

Then the hologram flickers and disappears, leaving Syal alone with her thoughts.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The Fountain Palace, Hapes

Her name is Allana Chume'Ta Djo. She is the crown princess and heir apparent of the Queen Mother of Hapes. The hidden daughter of a fallen Jedi; her strength in the Force is unknown to all but a few. Just a few years shy of her tenth birthday; she can still feel that clarion call of the Force, urging her to be out in the galaxy, doing that which her blood calls her to do.

She is currently standing on the balcony of her room, uncaring that she is exposed to any possible snipers, her thoughts and attention are turned towards space, towards the stars which she can feel calling to her. She frowns as she hears the door to her room open. Feeling through the Force that it is her mother; she schools her features, and then turns to watch her mother as she slowly walks into the room.

The Queen Mother watches her daughter as well, noting that her brandy eyes do not reveal her emotions, as she stops in the doorway to the balcony; she greets her daughter in the simple way that they both are accustomed to. "Daughter."

Allana allows a ghost of a smile to grace her lips. "Mother."

"I could feel your troubles. Is there anything you wish to discuss?"

"The Force calls to me. I believe it is time that I go to Ossus to learn the ways of the Jedi."

Tenel Ka expected something like this. Knew that one day, her daughter would have the desire to flee Hapes, and seek the experiences promised in the wider galaxy. She kneels so that she is eye-level with the young girl. "I will make the necessary preparations. While you are gone from Hapes, remember this, I am proud of you."

Allana, taken aback by this uncharacteristic show of emotion, responds accordingly and throws her arms around her mother. As Allana releases her mother, Tenel Ka reaches out and places her hand against the side of her head. "You will make a fine Jedi, and even greater Queen Mother my daughter. Now off to bed with you."

Tenel Ka stands and begins leaving the room, when her daughter's voice once more calls out to her. "Mother?"

"Yes, Daughter?"

"Can you tell me who my father was now? I know he is a Jedi, but beyond that, you've told me little to nothing, what if I meet him while training?"

Tenel Ka takes a deep breath, remembering what happened to Allana's father, how the Dark Side twisted and warped him, causing him to betray everyone and everything he knew to be good and right.

Turning back to her daughter, she nods her head, and goes to sit in one of the chairs in the room. Hesitantly Allana follows and takes a chair near her mother. She can feel the pain and anguish coming from her mother, and is somewhat startled by the lack of control being displayed due to this subject.

Tenel Ka takes a deep breath and begins the story. "His name was Jacen Solo, he was a great pilot and Jedi Knight, but he was betrayed by a friend of his, turned, twisted to the Dark Side of the Force."

------------------------------

Corellian Governmental Complex, Office of the Diktat, Corellia.

Wedge sits in his office staring out at the night sky of Corellia. Hearing the subtle swish of his office door opening he turns to find his wife staring at him from the doorway. He smiles at her, and stands up walking over to her. She holds up a single hand to forestall him. "I resigned from Federation Intelligence this afternoon."

Wedge nods his head, knowing that his wife has more to say.

"I agree with this, and Myri is with us of course, but Syal, she stayed in the military."

Wedge sighs and leans back against his desk. Covering his face with his hands, he begins thinking, wondering how he can save things.

"I want you to head up our new Intelligence Division; Myri can help you with that. Maybe they won't invade here."

She frowns at him. "That's wishful thinking Flyboy, and Cal will probably send Twin Suns in here for the sole reason that Syal is a member of that squadron as an added enticement to get you to relent."

"I know, but I live on wishful thinking. Han came to see me earlier today, said Leia sent him."

"Oh?"

"I think he'll side with us, and help us. He's not that pleased with these new laws either, but then Han has always been one to rather do without rules and laws."

"Have you contacted Bel Ibis?"

"Yes, and apparently he had a slight stroke earlier in the year. He didn't want it spread around, but he's still in intensive therapy over that."

Iella sits on the desk next to Wedge, taking one of his hands in hers. "We will need more capital ships."

"I know, and I have a plan for that."

She raises an eyebrow as she looks at him. "This I've got to hear."

He just smiles at her.

--------------------------------------------

Cartann City, Adumar.

Ben and Jysella sit in a park, neither particularly watching the scurrying natives, going to and fro in their nocturnal activities. Ben's attention is on the glow of a blastsword duel in the distance, the deadly dance of two fighters, rendered pretty by the unique aesthetic component of a blastsword. Jysella leaning against him is deep in a healing trance, taking their stop as an attempt to heal some of the damage done to her leg by the blaster.

Finally with a loud pop, the duel in the distance is done, and the crowd that had gathered begins wondering off looking for other entertainment. Ben continues to sit on the bleachers, and projects a Force Illusion, hiding them so they won't be bothered by the crowd that began walking their way.

Pulling out the small box from an inside pocket of his robes, Ben opens it and looking upon the ring contained within it, once more wonders on how and when he should ask Jysella to be his wife. Feeling her start to come out of the trance, he quickly places the box back into his robes and turns his attention to her, as her green eyes slowly open, to look up at him.

She sits up stretching, and looks around them. "So what's our next step?"

"Breakfast."

She looks at him, trying to decide if she should laugh or smack him. "I meant about the mission."

He smiles and winks at her. "Well, I was jumped yesterday, before I returned to the hotel, and one of my attackers told me some interesting information. The first, someone has hired a bunch of folks to try to kill the both of us."

"I figured that part out."

"The other is that there is a new manufacturing plant somewhere in the city, paying good money to its employees, but no one seems to know just exactly what they are producing."

"That sounds like where we should go look to me."

He smiles at her. "Stay out of my head Horn."

"With pleasure Skywalker."

Standing, they raise the cowls of their cloaks, and Ben drops the Force Illusion hiding them and they go first in search of breakfast, and then to find this new manufacturing plant.

---------------------------------------------------------------

_Viscount_, Deep Space, Two Parsecs from Adumar

Gavin Darklighter replays the message from the Secretary of Defense, listening to it once more to make sure that he has truly understood what is happening, what his newest orders are.

"Admiral Darklighter, you and your task force are to be prepared to move to the Corellian System, in the near short-term future." Ka Dann's eyes glisten with amusement visible even in the small hologram as he is speaking. "We already have forces on the way to suppress the rebellion that is beginning within that system, and we may require the support of the _Viscount_ and her starfighters. Secretary Dann, out."

Gavin turns off the orders cube, and tosses it onto the desk. Then he activates the com, to his aide. "Jenth, can you have Lieutenant Antilles report to my office please."

The reply comes back quickly and efficiently. "Right away sir."

Gavin sighs, curses and looks around for something to throw as the potential ramifications of these orders filter through his mind. And he finds himself once more wondering what has become of the government he fought and bled for.

His mood is still dark, as his door buzzes, indicating a guest. Without stopping his pacing, he says, "Come."

Glancing at the door, he watches as Lieutenant Syal Antilles comes in. As pretty and as blonde as her namesake, she has also inherited all the formidable piloting and tactical skills of her father. She steps fully into the room, and quickly salutes. Gavin returns it absently. "We have an issue here Syal."

Her face scrunches in confusion. "Sir?"

"Are you aware of what your father has done on Corellia?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, the Federation is sending in a task force to pacify the Corellian System, who they consider to be in open rebellion." Gavin looks at the daughter of one of his oldest friends and sees the horror on her face, and continues speaking; knowing that what else he has to say will be just as bad for her. "We are on stand-by to assist in those efforts. I want you to have no doubts, that our relationship to Wedge probably had a rather large role in the choice of backup for the operation."

Syal quickly sits down, and puts her head in her hands. "Mom told me this might happen, but I refused to believe her. I told her the Federation was above such things."

"Unfortunately, no government is above such things."

Syal quickly stands. "Excuse me sir."

Then she rushes from Gavin's office. Gavin stands there for a moment, frowning at the closed door, and then decides to go to the onboard gym and exercise some of his frustrations away.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Skywalker Homestead, Tatooine.

As the twin suns set, Luke finds himself once more watching them, once more almost hearing that beautiful song, once more almost touching the Force.

His eyes scan the skies, seeing the beautiful reds and golds of the sunset, and then he hears a new sound, the lowing of a bantha. Frowning, he turns towards the Dune Sea off in the distance and can just make out the shape of a bantha heading towards him, towards them all. Pulling out his macrobinoculars, he centers them on the dark shape, focuses and can clearly see the Bantha, and a quick flash of gold.

A touch on his shoulder startles him and he turns around to see Mara behind him, holding Padmé. "Padmé said we're having a visitor."

Luke points towards the dark shape on the horizon. "It's a bantha; I think it might be Tahiri."

She turns a dark look towards Luke, as she is fully aware of just how dangerous sand people are. "Is she bringing us some other guests?"

"No, it looks like she might be alone."

Mara just nods her head, and turns her attention to Padmé. "I think its time for us to go inside and tuck you into bed."

"No! I see!"

Luke refrains from laughing, as Mara responds to the outburst. "You can meet our guest if she is still here in the morning, for now it is bed time."

Luke watches as Mara starts heading back into the house, noticing the pout on Padmé's lips, one that reminds him so much of Mara's. Looking back towards the horizon, he notices that the bantha is much closer now, and closing at a good trot.

The bantha slows to a stop a few meters from him and Tahiri's slim form slides off and drops gracefully to the ground. He can see the hurt and pain in her eyes as she looks at him, and he remembers how harsh and cold his last words were to her.

Swallowing his pride, he smiles at her and speaks first. "Tahiri, I'm so happy to see you."

She remains terse, as if she's wondering exactly why she has come. Finally she bows slightly. "Master Skywalker."

He walks to her, closing the distance between them. "No, it's just Luke now Tahiri, I am no one's master."

The smile she gives him is hesitant and awkward. "You'll always be Master Skywalker, but I will respect your wishes here."

"How can I help you, Tahiri?"

She turns away from him. "I'm not sure; I was finally building myself a new saber. My first since…since Jacen." She pauses for a moment, fighting back the pain. "And I had a vision, in it Anakin told me to come here, that it was time for me to be a Jedi again."

As he begins speaking she turns to him, her eyes filled with emotions, chief among them pain. "I'm sorry, but neither Mara nor myself are able to touch the Force any longer."

He can see the shock on her face. "What? What happened?"

Now it is his turn to look off into the distance, this topic brings up painful memories, memories of his greatest failures, his greatest failings. In response to her questions he says a single word. "Jacen."

"Oh."

He turns back and smiles. "But come on into the house and stay with us for a while. Until you can figure out what the Force's plan is."

As they start into the house, Luke suddenly stops and faces her. "But before we do, I just want to apologize for treating you the way I did, for abandoning you the way I did."

---------------------------------------

Jedi Academy, Ossus.

Han Solo frowns as he looks up at the imposing edifice of the Jedi Academy. Even after all these years the building gives him the creeps in ways that the Academy on Yavin never did. He silently wonders if it's because of what went on here, what went wrong here.

Shaking the thoughts off, he moves whisper silent through the meditation gardens, years of shady dealings, and avoiding holoreporters granting him skills to do so. As he arrives at the quarters he shares with Leia, he quickly enters a code and steps inside the simple room.

She is sitting on the couch, smiling at him, a hard glint in her eyes. He starts to bend down to kiss her. "Hey your worshipfulness."

"You were supposed to warn him off that path, Han."

At her tone, he bypasses the kiss, and drops into the chair opposite her. "I gave him your warning."

He frowns as he notices that her lips have arched down into a frown. "Why do I have a feeling that there's more bad news than just Wedge not taking the advice I sent."

Han looks away from her, until her voice calls his eyes back to her. "Han!"

"What?" He paints a look of pained innocence on his face.

"What did you do?"

Han leans back in his chair, allowing a grin to surface on his face. "Wedge offered me a job."

"Please tell me you turned him down."

"I turned him down."

"Kriff!" Leia quickly stands, and starts to pace. "What position did you take with Wedge?"

Han mumbles something under his breath.

Leia turns on him. "What?"

"Supreme Commander of Corellian Forces."

----------------------------------------

The Fountain Palace, Hapes

Tenel Ka is watching a recorded broadcast of Wedge's speech. It is the fourth time she has watched it. So many parts of it speak to her; remind her of what is good and right. She then picks up the data pad next to her, and reads the ultimatum being demanded from her from the Federation.

They want control of the weapons manufacturing capabilities of her planets.

Shutting off the recording, she composes a short and concise reply to Cal Omas, letting him know in no uncertain terms that the Hapes Consortium would not be relinquishing control of her shipyards.

She composes a short message, for Wedge Antilles, pledging Hapan support.

As soon as that message was sent, she calls for her defense minister. As the elderly woman briskly walks up and bows to her, Tenel Ka begins to speak. "I want you to assign a task force to Wedge Antilles; they are to protect Corellia as best they can."

The minister nods her head and spins from the room, quickly rushing off to obey Tenel Ka's commands.

She then strips from her robes of state, dropping the dresses which her station dictates that she wears to the floor. She goes to her wardrobe and pulls out a set of lizard skin armor, nodding her head in satisfaction at the soft supple gleam of the green armor.

Dressing quickly, she looks in the dressing mirror, pleased at her reflection. Once more looking and feeling like a warrior rather than a politician. She allows herself a ghost of a smile, happy with the changes to her appearance brought about by the simple act of changing what she wears.

Then she spins and with her customary long strides, leaves her office heading for the throne room. When she arrives, she walks around to stand in front of the crystal throne, gazing out at the nobles gathered to hear what she has to say. Her grey eyes scan the crowd, and she nods to those nobles who currently have her favor.

A quick glance to the technician in the back, and she receives the signal that her speech will go out over the holonet. She stands in front of her throne, her posture loose and easy, welcoming.

"People of Hapes, I come before you today to let you all know of what is happening. As you all know, my father worked to have Hapes join the New Republic and its fight against the tyranny of the Empire, and my parents continued in their support of the New Republic during the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. When I ascended the throne, I continued that tradition, helping the peoples of the galaxy when and how I was able."

She pauses, and allows her gaze to once more travel over those gathered before her. "When the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was formed, I was there, as one of the first signatories to be included. With our help, the Federation was able to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong, ending that long and costly war. We have also helped the Federation in other ways, offering both military and domestic assistance as needed to the peoples of the galaxy."

Another pause, allowing what she has said to sink in, especially in light of what she is about to say. "And we have been repayed with deceit and betrayal. Many of you have raised concerns over the number of intrusive laws that flow from Coruscant on a daily basis, and most of those concerns are valid in the worries and issues they represent. Yet the newest law that has come out is an evil that we, as Hapans, cannot accept. For today, I received a letter from the Office of the Chancellor demanding that we turn over our weapons and ship building capabilities to the Federation."

She pauses once more, assuming a fighter's stance. "I have replied to this communiqué in the negative, and informed the Chancellor that Hapes would never give up her military capabilities." She pauses for the applause to die down. "For over four thousand years, Hapes has been strong, and she will remain so for as long as my heart still beats. Yet we must still remember that we are not alone in our stance against the tyranny of the Federation, Corellia has seceded as well, and I have offered an alliance to Diktat Antilles, hoping that if we present an united front, then we can make the Federation take note, that we will not, cannot accept what they are doing."

She pauses and scans the crowd once more, and then she focuses directly on the holocamera. "Effective immediately the Hapes Consortium is no longer a member of the Federation of Free Alliances, she is now the founding member of a Confederation of Independent Systems."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The Corellian System

They drop out of hyperspace by ones, then by twos, and finally by fives. The fifth fleet, comprised of one super star destroyer, fifteen Imperial Mark III Star Destroyers, two viscount class cruisers and a host of tenders, light cruisers and blast boats. As they drop all around the Corellian System, gravity well generators activate, keeping all traffic in the system.

Admiral Traest Kre'fey stands on the command walkway of the _SSD Guardian_, overlooking the skies of the Corellian system. His white fur bristles slightly as he considers just what he's doing here, when he should be out in the Unknown Regions searching for the remnant of the Vong.

He hears the scuffle of feet from behind him, and turns to find an ensign standing at attention. Kre'fey smiles at this sign of respect. "Report, Ensign."

"Diktat Antilles is online and wishes to speak with you Admiral."

Kre'fey nods his head, and returns to his command chair, activating the console there. He smiles at Wedge, baring his teeth in a friendly greeting. "Hello Wedge, how are you?"

Wedge returns the smile. "Admiral, it has been a long time, can I ask exactly what you are doing running up gravity wells in Corellian space?"

"You know the answer to that Wedge. I'm following orders."

"Shavit Traest! What is Omas thinking? Doesn't he realize that this is an act of war?"

"I think that's the point Wedge."

"Okay, let's make this formal, please vacate Corellian space."

"I can't do that Wedge, but Omas should be contacting you soon over all this."

Traest frowns at the console, as the image winks out, letting a small growl escape as he considers the various pressures being put on everyone here. Then he pushes all thoughts of politics and power from his mind, and requests a status report on current operations focusing his mind once more on military strategies.

--------------------------------------------------

Cartann City, Adumar

Ben sits in an empty apartment in the warrens above the manufacturing concern, probing with the Force as groups of workers come and go. He glances at the sleeping form of Jysella, and throws on his over cloak, and enters the hallway. His eyes scans the workers as they walk away from the plant, and smiling as he picks up his mark, he stops the pair by stepping in front of them. "Can you help me?"

They draw up short, a startled look on their face, obviously unused to being stopped on their way home. Ben smiles at them, and waves his hand, putting pressure on them in the Force. "Follow me."

He then turns, and retraces his step, leading the two workers back to the apartment where Jysella is sleeping. As he once more enters, he presses his hand to their foreheads and utters a single command. "Sleep." The two workers crumple to the ground asleep.

"Kidnapping people already?"

Ben turns to look at Jysella, as she stands in the doorway, her elbow propping her up against the doorjamb and a smirk decorating her face. He smiles at her, allowing his eyes to travel up and down her form, admiring the pants and tunic she is wearing. "Of course, upset that you didn't get to help?"

She laughs, and bends down next to the sleeping forms. Pulling back the cloaks they both wear, she looks back up at Ben. "At least you choose two people of different sexes this time, which means that you don't have to pretend to be a girl again."

"And you claim that I keep bringing the past back up."

She shakes her head, laughing slightly. "So, when do we go into the factory?"

He looks back over the two people asleep on the floor. "They're not due back in the factory for another twelve hours or so, which means we should probably go in then."

She smiles coyly at him, one finger idly twirling her hair. "So what are we going to do until then?"

He quirks an eyebrow at her. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

She slowly saunters over to him, and leans in close to his ear. "You…going and getting us some dinner."

Then with a laugh she spins away, going into the other room. Ben shakes his head, and shrugs into his cloak, and once more goes out into the city. He quietly slips from shadow to shadow, always watching those around him, wary of another attack. A picture on one of the flatscreens that the Adumari seem to put everywhere attracts Ben's attention, and as he focuses on it, he lets out a curse.

There, apparently being broadcasted to every home in the city is a picture of him and Jysella. Tuning his comlink to the appropriate channel he begins listening to the audio-cast.

"..right. Again, we bring you this breaking news; there are currently two armed and dangerous criminals loose in Cartann City. They are posing as Jedi and operating under the aliases of Ben Skywalker and Jysella Horn. These two felons are responsible for the bombing at the Hotel Cartanna, and believed to be responsible for the murders of three Adumari citizens the night of their arrival, following a ball hosted for them by our Perator. In addit-"

Ben turns off the comlink, plunging the night around him into a silence that is only interrupted by his cursing. Looking around and getting his bearings, Ben lifts the cowl of his cloak over his head, and searches for a restaurant or food store where he can get them something to eat, still muttering curses about his Skywalker luck.

---------------------------------------------

Han walks to the cockpit of the _Falcon_, frowning slightly. He looks around the hallway, trying to figure out when something is going to go wrong. Something always breaks on trips like this, yet this time the _Falcon_ has been flying smoothly and perfectly.

It gives Han Solo a bad feeling.

Once more shaking his head, he enters the cockpit, sliding into his comfortable old seat, and preparing for the drop from hyperspace. Looking at the navicomputer, he notes that he has about a minute and a half before it's time, so he leans back into his seat.

Then with a wailing of alarms, the _Falcon_ shudders and the hyperspace tunnel collapses in upon itself, dropping Han out into realspace. A sense of alarm flickers through him as he recognizes the dagger shaped hulls of star destroyers. Muttering curses under his breath, he sends the _Falcon_ into a spiraling dive, and glances at the transponder, noticing that all the destroyers are registering as Federation vessels.

The com crackles to life. "Unidentified transport, you have entered restricted space, please come to a full stop, and prepare for boarding."

Han frowns at the com, and decides to ignore it. Pushing the _Falcon_ down from the ecliptic, he pours full power into the sublight engines. Then the bright light of a turbolaser blast slices down in front of the cockpit, leaving a glowing afterimage in Han's eyes.

The com once more crackles to life. "Unidentified transport, this is the Federation Star Destroyer _Ackbar_, I repeat that you are to come to a full stop and prepare for boarding."

Sighing, Han decides that he needs to answer them and flips on the com. "Star Destroyer _Ackbar_, this is the _Millennium Falcon_ I am on an important mission for the Jedi Council for negotiations with the Corellian Diktat."

Han mentally crosses his fingers, and pushes the engines up to full power, heading towards Corellia, hoping to get to the planet's surface before the com officer on the _Ackbar_ can figure out his lie.

The com crackles again. "_Falcon_, heave too immediately"

Han grins, and spins the ship just as a tractor beam attempts to grasp onto the _Falcon_. Han is once more cursing, as she starts to shudder from the grip of the tractor beam, then with one last burst of power from the engines, the Falcon is skimming the atmosphere of Corellia, the red glow from friction flaming up the sides of his ship. Han leans back slightly, and switches over to repulsers, happy to have been able to run the blockade and make it back to Corelllia. Looking at a monitor, he determines his location, and begins heading to Coronet.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Dressed as factory workers Ben and Jysella follow the crowd down the brown colored hallways. Ben looks around furtively, seeing nothing but that great see of brown, the brown walls, the brown ceiling, the brown flooring, and everyone wearing identical brown jumpsuits with brown cloaks.

Dropping his gaze once again, Ben wonders about the utterly depressing color scheme. Then they are at the entrance way to the factory, and swiping their badges gaining entrance. Once in, they continue following the crowd going deeper into the planet's crust, until they come to a huge room, filled with various equipment used in the construction of various types of armaments.

Ben suppresses the desire to whistle, as he sees the thousands of people all silently working to build weapons, everything from blasters and vibroblades to proton torpedoes. Once more walking down the hallway, Ben spies a room off to the side, and quickly ducks within it.

Jysella enters a few moments after him, and mutters a curse as she looks around the room. Ben finally looks at the crates stacked in neat precise rows, and mutters the same curse. For each crate is clearly labeled as containing twenty thousand thermal detonators.

And from where Ben is standing, he easily sees a hundred crates.

Working quickly, he pulls out his communicator and thumbs it on, trying to hail the Jedi Temple. Instead he gets a response on a military frequency.

"This is Gavin Darklighter commanding the _Viscount_, is this Jedi Skywalker?"

"Yes, this is Jedi Skywalker, I have found a rather large munitions operation on Adumar, and Jedi Horn and myself have become," Ben pauses here for a second, thinking of an appropriate phrase. "Well, we've become wanted felons by the government because we were looking into this."

To his surprise Gavin laughs. "I see the both of you have too much of your parents in you. Okay, we're enr-"

Then the signal cuts out, and Ben frowns at the com unit. A tingling in the Force and Ben yanks out his saber, just as four guards burst into the room with blastswords drawn and activated. Two guards steps towards each of them, and the two Jedi ignite their sabers, and go on the offensive.

Ben dives between his two, and slices at the sword of one, and leans into a punch to the jaw for the other. Smiling as he hears the clatter of a chunk of the sword fall to the ground, Ben twirls around, and plants an elbow in that man's face. Then he brings his saber up, and deftly disarms the second guard. At the guard's scream of pain, Ben looks down and notices that he had chopped of his entire arm.

"Oops."

Jysella looks up from where she had quickly rendered her two unconscious. "What?"

Ben leans down, and pushes a Force compulsion into the man to sleep, and then drops him into a healing trance. "I accidentally cut this man's arm off."

Jysella steps closer to Ben, looking down at the sleeping man, who was still holding his arm to his chest. "You know he's not a Skywalker, he didn't have to sacrifice a part of his arm."

Ben laughs and leans over to kiss Jysella on the cheek. "Come on, let's get out of here."

---------------------------------------

Gavin frowns as the com goes down with a burst of static. He turns towards the communications officer. "Ensign, what happened to the signal?"

Ensign Sliah looks up from his station. "It's being jammed sir."

Gavin nods his head slightly. "Helm, plot us a course for Adumar, best possible speed." Then he reaches over and punches a button on his command station. "Commander de Hanadi, you are green to go as soon as we reach the system. Expect hostiles in the form of Blade-32's and Blade-33's."

He can hear the pinched pain in her voice. "Aye sir."

Then with a jolt, the _Viscount_ jumps into hyperspace, as her crew begins to ready themselves for the upcoming battle. With a flicker of pseudo-motion, the _Viscount_ and her tenders find themselves circling the planet Adumar, as he watches he can see a bulk cruiser to the starboard unloading her fighters.

Ensign Sliah's voice attracts his attention. "Sir, I have a communication from the Perator of Adumar."

Gavin nods his head. "Put it on the con, Ensign."

"Aye sir."

Gavin sits down and finds himself looking at the image of a dark-haired middle-aged man. One who is visibly angry. "Can I ask what you are doing in the Adumar system, deploying fighters?"

Gavin smiles at the man. "You have been found in violations of the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. As a duly-empowered representative of the Galactic Federation, I hereby insist that all weapons manufacturing facilities be turned over to me."

"This is an outrage! We will protest in the Senate."

"That's fine Perator." And then he cuts the signal.

The officer sitting at the sensors station suddenly speaks loud enough for all on the bridge to hear. "Incoming enemy fighters, current readings indicate thirty-six, repeat three six, blade thirty-three craft, and seventy-eight, repeat seven eight, blade twenty-twos."

Gavin frowns, having not expected quite that many fighters. He flips on the com, and sets the signal to the all-fighters channel. "All starfighters this is Admiral Darklighter, you are free to engage the enemy at will."

He flips off the com, and then turns his attention to the tactical data, watching as the little dots of light which represents the lives of the men and women under his command mingle with the dots of lights of the planetary defenders. As lights begin to extinguish from both sides of the fight, he once again finds himself wondering about the rightness of this mission. If the blood shed by those pilots is really worth that law, and that government.

-------------------------------

Cheriss ke Hanadi launches from the hanger of the Viscount, Twin Suns squadron lining up behind her, with two more squadrons from the Viscount lining up behind that. She frowns slightly as the Viscount announces their odds, and then pushes that from her mind, focusing only on the battle ahead.

"Okay Twin Suns, we have the enemy incoming, stick close to your wingman and we'll see you when this is over."

Eleven com clicks confirm to her that her squadron is ready for the battle ahead, and she speaks the final, traditional words. "Lock s-foils in attack position, and may the Force be with you."

Then she pushes the confusion and worries and problems from her mind and gives herself over to the dance. Swinging her craft around, she locks onto the first blade and starts firing her laser canons, part of her heart tearing as the craft shreds under her sustained blast.

Rolling away from the explosion, she searches for the next one of her countryman to come against her, the next one of her countrymen that will be her next kill. Finding it, she dives against the blade that is on the tail of Twin Suns 4, her lasers shredding the engines of the blade, causing it to pull up and away from the battle.

She reaches up and wipes away a tear that escapes as she considers what she's doing.

She doesn't know why she's here. She doesn't know what she is fighting for.

She doesn't believe in it. It is no longer the same thing which she joined while following after Wedge Antilles.

She switches to the general command frequency. "Twin Suns, return to the _Viscount_ and stand down."

She smiles as she hears the eleven com clicks, and her squadron disengages from the fights and begins landing on the _Viscount_.

Then the call that she had been dreading comes in. Gavn Darklighter is on her personal command frequency. "Chreiss what do you think you're doing?"

She can once more feel some tears. "I'm sorry Gavin, I can't do this anymore, leave Adumari space immediately; I resign my commission."

She can feel the frustration in his voice. "This will be viewed as treason Cheriss."

"That doesn't matter anymore Gavin. The government I cared for, the government I, we, served, it doesn't exist anymore; now please either join me or leave before I have to fire upon you."

Gavin's voice is sad and filled with pain. "I can't do that Cheriss, I have my orders."

She banks her fighter away, her tears starting to flow once more, as Twin Suns once more launches.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Leia Solo sits in the Council Chambers, her chair shifted around so that she can watch the traffic as it flies around. She looks down once more at the message from the defense fleet concerning the _Millennium Falcon_. She wipes away a tear as she deletes the message. "Oh Han, what have you done."

Behind her she can hear the elevator stop and the doors open out in the foyer. Then there is the soft sound of the door opening, and the even lighter steps of her daughter drawing nearer.

"Mom?"

Leia smiles at the slight hesitation in her remaining child's voice - glad to know that her daughter is not as all-powerful as she so often appears during Council meetings. Turning away from the window, she faces her daughter, noting the dark black robes, and the crimson veil covering the top half of her face. "What is it, Jaina?"

Leia notices how Jaina is biting on her lower lip, and it makes her appear much younger than she is, to Leia it makes her appear to be the slightly angry and quite confused girl that she was before the Vong invaded. "Are we doing the right thing? Is this something that Uncle Luke would have wanted us to be involved in?"

Leia frowns as she does not really have an answer. "That is something I ask myself every day and am no closer to an answer." Leia pauses for a moment, not sure if she should tell Jaina about her father's actions. After a moment's hesitation she makes up her mind. "I just got a report about your father."

She can hear the surprise in Jaina's voice. "Dad? What has he done now?"

"He ran the blockade around Corellia. Apparently he almost got himself shot down."

"That is another situation that worries me Mom. What exactly does Omas think he's doing by starting a war?"

"He is intending on holding the Federation together by sheer force of will."

Jaina's voice is dark and foreboding. "That's called an empir, mom."

"I know."

Leia watches as Jaina settles into her customary chair, then she turns her sightless eyes once more towards Leia. "Should the Jedi be serving the Federation in this way?"

"The Federation is the power in this part of the galaxy. Serving the Federation helps the Jedi achieve their mandate of serving peace and justice."

Jaina leans forward, propping her elbows on her knees. "But that is the thing; I don't think the Federation is concerned about peace or justice anymore."

She falls silent then, and stays that way for a number of minutes. Leia recognizes the quiet way that Jaina is sitting as her way of deciding on something. After a few minutes, Jaina speaks once more. "I've been having visions more and more often."

"About what?"

"War, death, the destruction of the Jedi."

Leia frowns at this. "How does it come about this time?"

"It's a Dark Jedi, he's powerful, strong in the Force and he walks through our knights as if they are not even there. But that's not the worst part of the vision."

"What makes it worse?"

"While I am watching him slaughter the Jedi, I am just filled with this deep feeling of betrayal. It is almost as bad as what I felt when we found out that Jacen was the one who blinded me."

------------------------------------------

Ben and Jysella step out of the room, to a riot of sounds and lights which make up the intruder alarms in this factory. Cursing under his breath, he grabs Jysella's hand and leads her deeper into the facility, dodging security patrols, and workers alike.

Suddenly a large door slams down in front of them, causing Ben to come to a sudden stop. He frowns as he looks around, as more walls slam down around them. He looks to Jysella and sees the smirk painted on her face. "This is the third trap you've walked me into on this trip alone."

Ben starts pacing around the room. "It's all part of my master plan."

This causes Jysella to laugh. "Your master plan? I didn't realize that you had planned on us getting captured or almost killed."

Ben stops his pacing and closing the distance between them smiles up at her. "Well, since tonight we might die"

He stops speaking as Jysella holds up her hand. "That's enough of that Jedi-boy."

The amusement that flickers in Ben's eyes, dies as one of the walls opens up, exposing a group of Adumari soldiers with a man standing in front of them. Ben looks the man over, noting details about him such as the black hair, and bloodshot eyes.

Finally the man speaks. "You two have been a lot of trouble."

Ben smirks at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The man turns from Ben. "My Master wishes to see you."

"I'm sorry; I don't have any appointments open today, have your Master call the Jedi Temple and schedule one."

The man spins on his heel and throws out his hand, shooting forth a stream of Force lightning at Ben. Ben caught unprepared is tossed against the wall under the onslaught until Jysella intersects the lightning with her saber.

The man's glare is harsh and evil. "I am Argor, do not mock me. Now you will come with me, or I will destroy you both."

Ben struggles to his feet behind Jysella as she speaks. "We've dealt with Dark Siders before, you don't scare us."

In an eye-blink, Argor is standing next to Jysella and has her grasped by the throat and is lifting her off of her feet; in her surprise she drops her saber. Ben quickly calls it to his hand and steps closer to them. "Let her go now."

Argor looks at Ben, a smile forming on his face. Then he tosses Jysella against the wall, where she crumples to the floor unconscious. "Happy?"

Ben turns towards Jysella, intent upon going to her, but the snap-hiss of an igniting saber stops him. He turns back towards Argor, and sees the man standing there with a blood-red blade ignited. A hateful sneer decorates his mouth. "Come on young one or are you scared?"

Ben attaches Jysella's saber to his belt and pulls his own. With a snap-hiss it ignites and he smiles over the cool blue of the blade. "A Jedi does not know fear."

------------------------------------

Han lands the _Falcon_ at the Coronet Spaceport. He leans back in his chair, sighing slightly to himself as he feels a shake cross his body. Cursing under his breath he gets up and begins inspecting his ship for any signs of damage from his running the blockade.

He frowns at the thought of the blockade, knowing that they would have sent a message back to the Defense Fleet's headquarters and from there on to the Jedi and Leia. Finishing his inspection, he starts heading towards the Corellian Governmental Complex.

Ignoring the protests of the secretary, Han walks into Wedge's office. "Hiya kid"

Wedge looks up from his paperwork. "Han!" Wedge drops the papers on the desk in front of him, and points one hand towards the chair in front of it. Han smiles as he slides into the seat. "I take it that you noticed our visitors in orbit?"

"Yeah, they almost scratched the _Falcon_ as I was coming in. So do you have any brilliant ideas in your bag of tricks for this?"

Wedge's smile is malicious. "Oh I have a definite plan."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The two walk around each other, circling an invisible point between them, each has their saber ignited and pointed towards the other. Physically they are a study of duality.

One is young, barely a man, the other is old, nearing the end of middle age.

One fights for the life of the girl he loves, the other fights for the enjoyment of hurting someone.

One sports red hair, and a blue blade, the other black hair and a red blade.

One is calm and collected, while the other is a seething maelstrom of hate and anger.

One is a Jedi, the other is not quite a Sith.

Yes, they are a study of opposing characteristics, but for all their differences they fundamentally are the same. They both are powerful Force users. They both fight with flair, a love for the dramatic.

And ultimately, they both fight to win.

Then with a flash, Argor steps forward, propelling his blade down towards Ben, who is barely able to deflect the attack in time. As Ben recovers, Argor drops and pivots, snaking his leg behind Ben's dumping him to the ground.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Ben touches the Force and uses it to flip himself backwards, narrowly missing Argor's red blade as it cleaves into the floor where he had been laying. Landing, he steadies himself, and then steps forward, swinging his blade towards Argor.

Argor catches Ben's blade on his saber, and then releasing one hand from his hilt, slams his fist into Ben's jaw in a powerful uppercut.

The strength behind the blow lifts Ben up slightly, knocking him backwards. Ben shakes his head to clear the ringing, just as Argor blasts him once again with Force lightning.

Argor stops the lightning. "Now do you see my power, the power of the Dark Side. Now do you understand why you should fear me?"

Ben leverages himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Been there, done that." Then with a blast of Force energy, he jumps; landing behind Argor and lunges forward with his saber hoping to impale the older man on his blade.

Argor spins, and bats Ben's saber away. A feral smile stretches the older man's face as he steps forward and swipes his blade at Ben. Ben throws up a Force wall which halt Argor's swing and advance, even as he starts to back pedal, hoping to give himself some breathing room.

Once more lifting his saber over his head in a high-guard, Ben begins sliding to the left. "So just who is your Master? I killed the last of the Sith."

Argor laughs. "If you had come peacefully, then I would have taken you to talk to my Master. Unfortunately, you had to fight." Then with a shrug, Argor attacks once again, feinting a left to right strike, which Ben falls for, lifting his blade that way to block. Then with a twist of his wrists, he turns his feint into a stab, pushing his saber fast towards Ben's chest.

Ben realizes at the last instant the feint, and begins to twist his body away from the strike, but is unable to fully move in time. Argor's blade scores a long stripe across his chest, and plunges into his sword arm.

Ben drops his saber in shock, as Argor pulls back his blade. Ben drops to his knees, grasping the neat circular hole in his arm, and bites back a scream.

A movement from the corner of his eyes attracts his attention, and he faces Argor just as the older man steps up to deliver a killing blow. With a flash of anger, Ben strikes out waving his arm in Argor's direction, sending a concentrated Force push his way, which slams into the older man, knocking him against the far wall. The anger still in his eyes, he reaches out and grasps Argor with the Force, and begins to compress, squeezing the life from him as he slowly clenches his hand into a fist.

-------------------------------------

Han and Wedge stand side by side, looking at the holographic representation of the entire system. Han frowns at the green icons which represent the four dozen Corellian blockade runners that are currently in high orbit around one of Corellia's moons.

"You sure about this Wedge?"

Wedge nods his head and then points to one of the red icons which are scattered throughout the system. "This is one of the interdictors, and that one is going to be our first target."

Han reaches out and grabs the icon representing the star destroyer, and drags it to a secondary area, where it enlarges to give more detailed information. "The _Mon Mothma _huh?"

"Yes, I thought it fitting to rid the Federation of a ship named after her. Especially since the goals of the Federation are so opposed to what she had wanted for the galaxy."

Han nods his head. "You're the boss."

Wedge's laugh is dry and without any humor. Han turns towards one of the mission controllers. "Tell _Runner A_ that she has the go ahead."

Han reaches out and grasps another icon, dragging it to the secondary area. The image of the _Mon Mothma_ disappears, replaced by a new ship, one whose design Han does not recognize. "What is this?"

Wedge smiles once more, the humor that should be there, still lacking. "That's one of my surprises. It's called a Clippership."

Han looks at the oddly designed craft, noticing the long pointed, and the sets of three masts that stick out at regular intervals around the hull. Han fiddles with the icon, looking at it from every angle. Turning his attention from the Clippership, Han watches as one of the blockade runners detaches from the group, heading towards the interdictor in question.

"Get me a real-time visual feed from _Runner A, _put it up on seven.

A part of the displays changes and becomes a visual feed from the moving blockade runner. Han and Wedge watch as the craft gains speed and gets closer and closer to the _Mon Mothma_.

The distance between the _Mothma_ and where the blockade runner started from was great, and the _Mon Mothma_'s captain had ample time to see what was happening, and start to react to it. Wedge grins as the _Mon Mothma _starts to back away, trying to get away from the blockade runner.

Han nods his head. "It's working. Tell the rest of the runners they are good to go."

Each of the runners starts heading towards a specific capital ship. Each with a specific mission in mind. Their orders are simple: head directly towards their targeted capital ship at best possible speed, regardless of engine safety protocols.

Han once more grabs the icon representing the _Mon Mothma_ and drops it on the secondary terminal, bringing up the various sensor readings provided for that ship. He watches with a smile as she starts to release escape pods. He turns to a mission controller. "Tell Clippership _Captivator_ she is good to go for the _Mon Mothma_."

Wedge and Han hold their breath as they watch one of the clipperships get under way. As the ship nears the _Mon Mothma_, one of the masts, shoots out and impales the star destroyer. They stare at the red icon, watching it intently for minutes. Then they both let out a laugh as the icon switches to green, and a voice comes over the com. "This is Captain Hiram Olsa of the Corellian Defense Fleet Star Destroyer _Mon Mothma_, reporting for duty."

Han nods towards a mission controller, who quickly begins speaking orders to the star destroyer. When another of the controllers lifts there heads towards Han and Wedge. "_Runner C_ reports that the _Requiem _is not abandoning ship."

Han nods his head sadly. "Tell _Runner C_ to carry out her secondary mission."

Han turns back to the hologram of the system, and draws a box around the _Requiem _and _Runner C_, then drags that box bigger, causing it to expand. As Han and Wedge watches the blockade runner goes up to full speed, and rams into the _Requiem_. The green icon representing the blockade runner disappears as the red icon representing the _Requiem _turns blue for a disabled or dying ship. As the system gets more sensor information concerning the dieing ship, large chunks of the hologram turn the purple of destroyed subsystems.

"Their captain was an idiot, sacrificing them all just so we wouldn't get another ship."

Han pushes against the box holding the holographic representation of the _Requiem_, shrinking it until the entire system is once more displayed. As they watch, another group of capital ships come into the system on the vector that the _Requiem _was interdicting, their yellow icons appearing where there should be nothing.

"Sir, new contacts at point 0-7-6"

"Sir, we're being hailed by the new contacts."

Han nods at the ensign. "Turn it on."

A feminine voice comes from the hidden speakers. "This is Commander Alisha Ri'kora of the Hapan Battle Dragon _Vengeance_; by order of the Queen Mother we are here to aid you, and the Queen Mother pledges Hapan support in your stand against the tyranny of the Federation."


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Ben stares at the older man, his face a mask hate and anger. He closes his fist a little tighter, and starts to smile as the sound of breaking bones can be clearly heard.

Then she touches his face, a cool, gentle caress, reminding him of everything he holds dear. He looks at her, his features softening while she watches on. "You don't want to do this, not this way, do you Ben?"

Releasing Argor and the Force, Ben slumps into her embrace as Argor falls to the floor.

The guards seem to recover their wits after the display between Ben and Argor and surround the two young Jedi. One of them nervously steps forward. "By order of the Perator of Adumar, you are under arrest."

Ben lifts his head and looks at the guard, and then spares a glance for Argor who is groaning in pain. Standing he turns toward the guard and calls his saber back to his hand. He ignites it, looking down at the cobalt blue blade as it thrums in his hand. He turns his attention back to the guard and as Ben steps forwad, he offers the guard a predatory smile. "No. I don't think we will be going with you."

-----------------------------------------

Tearfully, Cheriss talks to Adumari Air Force, telling them of her defection. She watches as her IFF switches from a Federation signal to a distinctly Adumari one. She banks to starboard, and watches as _Twin Suns_ begin a run towards her and the flightknife of blades coming up behind her. She keys her com, trying to talk to one of her former subordinates.

"Syal?"

She hears Syal's voice, pained though it is with the betrayal she is feeling due to Cheriss' actions. "What Cheriss?"

"Please don't do this. Stand down. I don't want to shoot you. I respect your dad too much for that."

"You should have thought of that before you switched sides."

Cheriss starts jinking her X-Wing as the laser blasts start heading towards her. "Just remember those words when you end up in the Corellian system fighting against your father."

Cheriss twists her etheric rudder, causing her X-Wing to slide to the right. Her face is grim, her thoughts more so, as she targets the engines of one of her former squadmates. She hesitates for a split-second, before squeezing on the trigger, sending the two powerful blasts of energy out towards the other ship.

Without waiting to see if her shot hits, she pushes her throttle all the way down, and pulls back on the stick, raising her starfighter above the others, then she twists the ship down and falls on the tail of another X-Wing.

The sudden taste of salt on her lips is when she realizes that she is crying. She lines her sight up on the X-Wing, noting by the markings on it that it is _Twin Suns _4. Her voice is a soft whisper that she herself is barely able to hear. "Good bye, Annisa."

Then she squeezes the triggers once more, spitting out the lasers which shred the engines of _Twin Suns _4. Cheriss banks away as the ruby bolts of an X-Wing fly past her cockpit. She glances behind her, noting the markings of _Twin Suns_ 9. With a frown, she flicks her com over to the _Twin Suns_ frequency. "Damn it Syal. Go away."

"I can't do that, Cheriss. I have my orders."

"Your orders are wrong! Don't do this. Don't make me do this."

Cheriss aims her X-Wing closer to the planet, skirting the atmosphere, even as Syal comes on, firing at her. Muttering a curse under her breath, she banks to port, actually dipping into the atmosphere. Then a Blade 32 appears on Syal's tail and fires on her, taking away her starboard s-foils.

Cheriss frowns as she watches Syal's craft bounce on the atmosphere before veering off back into space and towards the _Viscount_.

As Cheriss banks towards the battle once more, she silently hopes that her friend makes it back safe and sound. Then she is once more in the thick of the fight, dodging and destroying her friends and those she trained. Each explosion an ache in her heart.

As a Y-Wing's rear gunner manages to land a successful shot with an Ion cannon, she can't help but smile, as the decision to fight or flee, the decision to fight for who she promised obedience to or for what she believes in, is taken out of her hands. Cheriss leans back against the crash couch, as her craft continues on the trajectory she was on when hit, rocketing straight for Adumar.

With a smile, she pulls on the ejection level, and with a puff of the flash charges she is free to watch her X-Wing as it flames into incandescence.

Then she recognizes the continent of Cartann, and what she sees paints a look of horror on her face.

----------------------

Jaina Solo leans back in her chair in the Council's Chambers, the argument between the Jedi Masters a fierce debate, with her mother leading one side and Tresina Lobi the other. She sits between them, their voices assaulting her in the black void where she spends her days.

Finally she has had enough.

"I think I understand why Uncle Luke declared himself the Grand Master now."

Her voice is soft, and calm, yet it cuts through the nearly screaming voices of the other Master's. She allows a flicker of a smile to cross her lips as she can feel in the Force those in the room with her as they focus their attention on her.

"For good or ill, we are standing by the principles of the Galactic Federation. Uncle Luke made that clear before he retired."

Leia's voice floats out of the darkness. "But how does that apply to Corellia? The Articles of Federation allows member states to leave the Federation, and that is what Corellia chose to do. What Omas is doing with the Defense Fleet is an invasion force?"

She shifts her head slightly, waiting for Tresina's voice. "But Corellia is a part of the Federation, and is trying to leave, merely to bypass the law."

Then she focuses on the door leading to the foyer. "This debate must wait, for now we have a guest."

At this point, Cal Omas walks into the room. Jaina can imagine the politician's smile, and a frown appears on her face. "What can we do for you, Chief Omas?"

"I want Jedi in the Corellian System, assisting the Defense Fleet with putting down this rebellion."

Jaina's frown deepens at Omas' choice of words. "I'm certain that Diktat Antilles does not see his actions as rebellious."

"I won't let the Federation fall apart the same way that the New Republic did."

Jaina cringes as her mother speaks up. "I will go to Corellia, maybe I can help defuse the situation before more lives are lost."

"I'm sorry mother, but you are too close to this issue, you will stay on Coruscant. Master Durron, you and Master Lobi will go to Corellia."

She can feel Omas' bright burn of outrage. "Is that all? Just two Jedi?"

She turns her head towards Omas. "Two Jedi should be more than enough Chief Omas. After all, they are going to attempt a diplomatic solution to the conflict which your actions have started."

Jaina stretches out with the Force feeling the bright tensions among all the Jedi, and the anger and outrage emanating from Omas. Jaina focuses on him slightly, noticing that his Force presence is even darker than it had been on his last visit.

With her Force sense focused on Omas, Jaina realizes that what she had just said was wrong somehow, that the repercussions of her statement will be something that is not good for the Jedi.

She knows in the bottom of her soul that he is about to say something that everyone in this room will regret in the coming days. As she bites her lips for a second, she searches in the Force for a way to change this, a way to stop the words she can feel are coming.

Yet for the first time in years, the Force is strangely silent in her inner ears, clouded in her mind's eye. Then the words she had feared fall like stones from Omas' mouth.

"I had wanted to not to have to do this, but because Jedi build their weapons, the Jedi Order is subject to the Military Procurement and Nationalization Act. It is now under the direct control of the Office of the Chancellor."

Jaina grits her teeth as she feels the shock roll through the Force. She probes the Force trying to find some way to bring the Jedi through this, some way to get through this and still retain their place as the guardians of peace and justice.

From the Force all she gets is silence.

From Kyp Durron she gets something even more heartbreaking. "If the Jedi are now under the direct control of the Chancellor's office, that means I'm no longer a Jedi."

Everyone in the room watches as he gets up and leaves, and Jaina can see the fractures his leaving is causing among the Masters as others start wondering if such is what they should do, and Jaina knows that Kyp's actions will be taken by a great many of their padawans and Knights.

Silently she wonders if she should follow his lead as well.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Ben steps closer to the guards, and Jysella once more lays her hand on his shoulder. "Peace Ben." Then she turns to the guards. "Where was this Argor supposed to take us?"

The guard looks from them to the man still on the floor moaning in pain. "He was supposed to take you to the control room."

Ben frowns at them, and then with a wave of his hand pushes against the guard's mind. "What is this facility hiding from us?"

"A weapon."

Ben smiles, and with a wave of his hand once more pushes with the Force. "You don't need the extra guards; you'll take us to the weapon now."

The leader of the guards glances at those around him. "You can all return to your positions, I'll deal with our intruders."

The chorus of acknowledgements is accompanied by the clatter of boots on the duracrete walkway as the other guards return to wherever they came from. Ben glances once more at Argor, and then walks out of the room, following the guard.

They are led deeper into the complex, through multiple security checkpoints and finally are shown into a large room. Ben and Jysella look up in awe at the device that towers over them. Ben's eyes narrows slightly. "It's a power reactor, similar to the Death Star's."

Jysella looks around the room, noticing a man sitting at one of the tables. "Maybe he can tell us what this thing is."

Then a Force wave strikes them knocking them forward; sending them sprawling to their chests. A dark voice speaks out from behind them and says, "No need to bother him, when I can tell you just as well."

Ben pushes himself up, cringing at the pain in his right arm. Looking towards the door he sees Argor standing there holding his saber in a loose grip. "So are you going to enlighten us or just stand there?"

Argor's smile is mean and malicious. "In essence it is a bomb. The one you see there is for planetary scale destruction, but we have them so that they can fit into a satchel and destroy merely a city block."

Ben and Jysella share a shocked look as Argor continues talking. "But of course, now that you know about this device, we are going to have to deal with you."

With that said he ignites his saber and assumes an attack stance. Ben and Jysella ignite theirs at the same time, both adopting similar stances

Argor steps in, slicing hard and fast, Ben steps forward and blocks the blow. Argor kicks him in the stomach. As he strikes downward, Jysella interposes her blade, blocking the downward strike.

She pushes up and forces Argor away from Ben. Argor's eyes narrow in his anger, and he grabs her with the Force and tosses her backward.

Then Ben is there, his saber flashing in a tight arc, a blur of light as the two fights. Each of their strikes and parries are so fast, so precise that their sabers never quite touch.

Then Argor stretches out and blasts Ben with Force lightning. Ben gets his saber up in time, allowing the lightning to pool on his saber. With a frown, he pushes back with both his saber and the Force, knocking Argor a few steps backwards.

Then Ben grabs Argor with the Force and throws him across the room.

Ben turns to watch Argor land and frowns as he sees what Argor is heading towards. Jysella steps up beside him, watching Argor land as well.

Ben's voice is soft as Argor slams into the large power reactor. "Sithspit."

Alarms start blaring as Argor's lightsaber slices through the regulator. As Ben and Jysella watch, electrical arcs begin flashing out from the machine towards the ceilings and walls.

After a second, Ben grabs Jysellas hand and drags her out of the room, as alarms start blaring. They run back the way they came, quickly exiting the hidden factory. As they enter the streets on the surface they look around getting their bearings.

Jysella glances at Ben, fear and shock on her face and in her voice. "Is there anything we can do?"

Ben shakes his head. "That thing is a planet buster; I'm just hoping there's an Adumar left after it explodes." He looks towards the west, and nods his head. "The _Skate_ is this way."

Once more running through the streets, Ben feels guilt at the fact that so many of these people are probably about to die due to his actions. He grits his teeth, forcing the tears to not start flowing. A sound attracts his attention, and he looks back over his shoulder, uttering another curse. He pulls Jysella close and throws them both to the ground. As he does so a Blade 32 Star fighter flashes through the air, the wave of heat from the fires on its wings slamming the air against the two.

As soon as it has passed by, Ben looks in that way, and watches as the spacecraft slams into the road, plowing a large furrow through the asphalt. It slides into a building, as secondary explosions send shrapnel out over the area. Ben throws a Force shield over them, as the deadly burning rain falls around them.

Ben looks around at the screaming citizens, part of him wanting to try to help them, yet the Force screams at him to get off planet. Looking around he sees an open air speeder. Helping Jysella up, he leads her over to it, and quickly bypasses the security system. He lifts the speeder, and instantly has to dodge another crashing starfighter.

He jinks and dives, dodging the various traffic, ignoring the angry screams as he flies past pedestrians at breakneck speeds. Yet even as he does this, he is drumming his fingers against the control stick, as the Force screams at him, driving him to get off planet, urging him to go faster.

Finally they arrive at the spaceport, and Ben nears the gate, and starts going faster. Jysella in the passenger seat looks at the gate and then towards Ben. "Uh, Ben, the gate?"

"I see it."

"Are you going to slow down?"

Ben shakes his head, and slams into the gate; the scream of overstressed metal giving away drowns out Jysella's screams. Ben curses once more as the damaged speeder starts to slow down. Ben looks back over his shoulder seeing the stream of smoke pouring out from beneath the speeder. Looking forward he sees the _Pulsar Skate_ sitting where they had left it.

Finally the speeder dies, and crashes into the ground. Jysella leans forward, rubbing the back of her head. "Next time I drive."

Ben slips out of the crash restraints and leans over to kiss her cheek. "So long as it's on the _Skate_ and we're breaking orbit that's fine."

As they step out of the speeder, they can feel the ground beginning to shake slightly. They get on board, and run through an abbreviated checklist, ignite the engines and start rising from the ground, quickly climbing towards space. Jysella looks at him. "Maybe it wasn't primed?"

Ben closes his eyes for a second, touching the Force. Opening them, he sadly shakes his head. "No…it's going to explode."

Jysella banks to starboard, still climbing, when a beam of light shoots out of the ground for a second and then disperses. As they look on in horror a yellow bubble starts forming and grows larger. Ben reaches over and flicks off the repulsers and turns on the subspace engines and the _Skate_ rockets up into the atmosphere, the friction burning on her shields. As they break atmosphere, the shock wave slams the _Skate _knocking her further out into space.

---------------------------------------

Gavin is standing at the operations table, watching how the battle is progressing. He frowns for a second, and then realizes what is wrong. There is a nearly hysteric note in one of his officer's voices. He turns that way just as the lieutenant stands up to get his attention. "Admiral Darklighter? We're picking up some strange readings from the planet."

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"We're not entirely certain, sir; we're putting it on screen now."

Gavin turns towards the monitor, and watches as a shaft of light streams out from the planet's surface and then disappears. Then there is a small bubble starting to appear on the ground and engulfing the city. Gavin gives voice to the question that is nagging the back of his mind. "Is that Cartann City?"

"I, I think so sir."

Frowning still, Gavin turns from the monitor and walks to one of the viewports which ring the bridge. He looks out and feels his mouth drop open. "Emperor's black bones." As he watches the bowl grows until it is clearly visible from where he is at.

Then it explodes.

The shockwave pushes the clouds away from the side of the planet they are facing, and chasing the clouds are firestorms. Before Gavin's horrified eyes the greens of plant life are turned to the black of soot and the reds of secondary fires. Then the view is clouded as the air rushes back into the vacuum caused by the explosion, pulling up tons of soot and ash, plunging Adumar into a new dark age.

Gavin turns to the window. "Someone find out if Jedi Skywalker or Jedi Horn got off the planet. And do it now!"

Gavin turns back to the window, his face betraying his anger and sadness as he watches Adumar burn.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Ben lifts his head from the console, gingerly touching his head, feeling the large gash across his forehead. Looking over to Jysella, he sees her leaning back in her crash couch, and slowly stirring. He glances out the forward viewport, and nearly throws up due to the vertigo caused by the stars pivoting as the ship tumbles uncontrolled through space.

Closing his eyes for a second, he reaches out and starts the process to bring the engines back online. As he feels the familiar thrum of the engines coming on line, Ben opens his eyes back up, and stops their spin. A quick glance at one of the monitors shows they are still in a low orbit around Adumar.

"What happened?"

Ben looks at Jysella, as she turns to face him, and he winces as he sees the large bruise forming on her forehead. Then he notices her own wince as she looks at him.

"You don't look that good."

Ben laughs; it is a harsh bitter sound. "Exploding planets does that to me."

Jysella winces as she leans forward, and swings the _Skate_ around so they can look at the planet. Neither of them knows what to say as they see the desolation, and dark clouds of ash caused by the explosion. Ben feels a deep stab of guilt. "This is my fault."

Jysella shakes her head slightly. "No, Argor started the fight in that room, the Adumari built the device. It's their fault."

But Ben doesn't reply, as he still knows deep in his heart that he is at fault. Finally Ben turns away, and activates the communications array, which immediately begins beeping for their attention. Ben flips a switch. "Jedi Horn or Jedi Skywalker, please respond. I repeat, Jedi Horn or Jedi Skywalker, please respond. _Pulsar Skate_, please respond."

"This is Skywalker, is this the _Viscount_?"

Ben smiles as he hears Gavin's voice. "Yes it is Jedi Skywalker. Is Jysella there with you and okay?"

"Yes Gavin, I'm here, though we both could use a check up by a medic, and the _Skate_ needs to be given a once over."

"Okay, you're cleared for the _Viscount_'s main hanger bay, report to the med-bay and then to me. _Viscount_ out."

Ben flips the ship around, and heads towards the star defender, and then looks toward Jysella. "I thought you wanted to do the flying?"

Jysella smirks at him as she leans her head back, closing her eyes. "No, you make a good chauffeur when you're not trying to kill us both."

----------------------------

Gavin watches as the two Jedi enter. He stands and walks over to Jysella who throws her arms around him, squeezing him tight she gives him a large hug. He releases her and leans against his desk. "I'm so happy that you both made it off Adumar. But do either of you know what happened?"

The two Jedi share a look, and Ben nods his head. "Yes. They were building explosives, and had built a planet-buster. Well there was a Dark Jedi there, and we had a fight in the room." Ben looks down at the floor at this point. "I kind of threw him against the planet-buster. Detonating it."

Gavin frowns for a second. "I guess that's what they get for building that type of weapon on their planet. I do have a communication from Jaina asking that one of you contact her as soon as possible, and the _Pulsar Skate_ has been checked over, there's some cosmetic damage, but she's flight-worthy."

Jysella graces him with one of her big smiles. "Thanks for that Gavin."

"Not a problem Jysella. But do note that we are about to jump to the Corellian System."

"Why is that?"

"Because Wedge seceded."

Jysella gasps and Ben frowns, looking down at his hands. Then he looks back up at Gavin. "Please don't jump until we talk to the Jedi Council."

"We won't."

"Thanks"

Gavin nods, and then leads them over to a communications console. Ben slides into the seat and presses a few buttons. An image of Jaina appears on the screen. "Hello Jaina."

"Was your mission a success Ben?"

"Yes. Now, I'm going back on vacation."

"I'm sorry Ben, but I need you to return to Coruscant. As Gavin may have told you, Corellia has seceded, and we need all the Jedi for that."

"No, Jaina. I did this mission for you; I'm heading back to Dad's."

"Fine." Then the communications console switches off.

Ben clenches his fist, and grits his teeth, resisting the urge to punch the console in front of him. After a second, he closes his eyes and starts doing a breathing exercise. Jysella places her hand on Ben's shoulder as he looks up at her. "Why does she do that? Why does she keep trying to drag me back to Ossus, when I tell her over and over that I don't want to go?"

Jysella does not have an answer, and just mutely shakes her head.

------------------------

Cal Omas sits in his inner sanctum, reading the reports from Gavin Darklighter, concerning the destruction on Adumar. He looks up as someone enters his office, and smiles at his old friend Ka. Standing, he walks around the corner, and grasps the shorter man's hand.

"Thanks for coming, Ka."

"It is my pleasure, your excellency."

Cal returns to his seat, gesturing for Ka to sit down in front of him. "You were right, the Jedi were hesitant on sending assistance against Corellia."

Ka nods his head, his dark beard rustling against the coarse fabrics of his robes. "And you gave them the ultimatum."

"Yes, the Jedi Order now answers directly to me."

"They will not like it."

Cal's eyes flash in anger. "That is irrelevant. My Jedi will listen to my commands."

"And if they don't? If they decide to rebel against you and the Federation?"

Cal turns away and looks out the window behind his desk, staring at the streams of traffic that lights up Coruscant's skies.

"If they decide against me, then they will be dealt with."

"What is your plan?"

"I don't have one yet."

"If I might make a suggestion?"

Cal turns back to Ka, and nods his head. Ka begins to smile.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Leia Organa-Solo stares into her mirror. For the first time in her life, she does not like who she sees. Sighing, she turns away from the mirror and picks up a picture of Han.

"Why is it this way?"

Han's picture has no reply, not that she expected it to. Yet it feels good to ask the question. She knows that what she is being asked to do is not right, that fighting against Corellia is not the right thing to do. Yet she knows that if she goes against the Council, or worse leaves the Jedi like Kyp did, then things will be much worse off.

Yet every fiber of her being says that what the Federation is doing, is wrong, that it is fundamentally against the beliefs that she fought and bled for all those years ago during the Rebellion.

And that knowledge that if she stays a Jedi, she will have to fundamentally change who she is, and what she has always fought for, makes up her mind.

With a smile for the first time in days, she turns back to her mirror, and likes who she sees.

Turning away again, she starts packing a bag, throwing those things that she desperately wishes to keep from her quarters here in the Jedi Temple. Then pulling out a dusty device, she thumbs on the switch, and a red light starts flashing periodically.

She sets the _Alderaan_'s recall device on the counter, as she goes about finishing her packing.

---------------------------------------

The Hapan Yacht _Divine Fist_ flashes through hyperspace. Young Allana Djo stands in the cockpit, behind her pilots, a small smile on her face as she watches the twirling blue colors as they flash past.

A red beacon starts flashing on the console, and the pilot looks over her shoulder. "Your Highness, please strap in now, we're about to revert from hyperspace."

Allana nods her head, and climbs up into the seat which engulfs her small frame. Sighing slightly, she decides that she cannot wait until she is old enough to pilot, so that she can see the reversion from hyperspace to realspace, rather than just the flash of light from behind the pilot.

She leans forward, watching what she can, and notices the pilot reaching out to grasp the hyperspace levers.

Then the ship shudders, and alarms fire off. Allana looks towards the viewports and sees the stars. "But you didn't revert us yet."

The pilot looks at her. "We were pulled out early your Highness."

At that moment, Talla, Allana's body guard, bursts into the cockpit. "Come along Highness, we must place you into hiding."

Allana unbuckles, and jumps from the seat, calmly following Talla. They stop at a blank section of bulkhead, and Talla presses on a section, about three quarters of the way up from the floor. With a click, a door swings outward, and Talla pushes Allana inside.

"Be safe your Highness."

Allana can only nod as the door swings close, shutting her into the darkness.

---------------------------------------------

The _Pulsar Skate_ launches from the _Viscount_'s main bay. Gavin watches, as it flashes past the bridge's viewports, and then elongates with the jump into hyperspace. Shaking his head at the theatrics of Corran's daughter, he turns to his helm officer. "Helm, bring us about, and make best speed to Corella."

"Aye, sir."

He frowns as he feels the thrum of the engines, and watches as the stars start to slowly crawl past in the viewports. He places his head in his hands, wondering once again, if this is something he really wants to do.

He spares a final glance back at burned and blackened Adumar. "I wish you the best Cheriss, and I hope you survived."

Then the universe blurs away into the swirls of hyperspace, and Gavin calmly strides from the bridge.

------------------------------------------------

Tahiri sits on the edge of the precipice which holds the Skywalker Homestead. Her eyes are closed, and she reaches out with the Force, plunging into its depths, trying to find some token of her Anakin, trying to find some reason for her being here.

She feels a small tug in the Force, and opens her eyes to see Padme Skywalker staring at her, her green eyes alive and shining with curiosity. She reaches out and presses one pudgy finger against the scars on Tahiri's head.

"Owies?"

Tahiri smiles. "Yes, I was hurt many years ago."

"Oh."

Then the little girl sits down next to her, and leans her head against the young Jedi. Tahiri puts her arm around the little girl, and is surprised as she drops off to sleep.

---------------------------------

"Sir! Enemy forces are pulling back."

Startled, Han looks up from the board. "What?"

The technician glances at him from his station. "The enemy forces are pulling back. They're drawing back towards Talus."

"Give me a view of that on the main tactical screen."

Han's eyes narrow slightly, as he watches the remaining starships under Federation command pull back and begin taking up orbit around the Centerpoint Station. He frowns as he watches this. "What are they doing?"

Wedge steps up beside him. "I don't believe they're doing that. What is Traest thinking?"

Han looks at him for a second, and then glances back at the hologram. His eyes narrow slightly as he realizes that landing ships are deploying from the Federation ships heading towards Centerpoint. "Is he landing an invasion force on Centerpoint?"

Wedge slowly nods his head. "Looks that way."

"That thing is inoperable right?"

"Unless your son had a kid out there, I doubt anyone here could activate it." Wedge pauses, considering something for a moment. "Jaina might be able to."

Han turns towards the technician. "Put a couple of those Star Destroyers in a point where we can watch what they're doing. And see about getting an infiltration team onto Centerpoint. We need to know what they're planning to do there."


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Mother?"

Leia turns around and sees Jaina standing there, the silence that sometimes seems to follow her remaining child is deafening.

"Yes, Jaina?"

"What are you doing?"

Leia sighs, and steps closer to her daughter. "I'm sorry. I can't do this. I can't put aside my beliefs for the Jedi. I tried, and look at what has happened."

A blast of wind from overhead, heralds the arrival of the _Alderaan_. Leia turns from Jaina to look at her ship, admiring the smooth, simple lines, the pearlescent white hull. She smiles and deactivates the recall device as the ship settles smoothly to the landing pad.

"So, where has that been hiding all these years?"

Leia laughs slightly. "In deep space. Your father and I put it there on the off chance that one of us needed a quick way off a planet."

"Don't do this mom. The Jedi need you, I need you. Adumar is in flames you know."

A frown crosses Leia's face as she turns back towards her daughter. "What happened?"

"Apparently, they were building weapons capable of destroying a planet. One was set off prematurely on their surface. Omas has requested a Jedi head up the humanitarian mission."

"Requested? Don't you mean ordered?"

"Please don't make this so hard."

Leia steps towards her daughter. "We all must do what we must. For me, that means leaving the Jedi. I cannot stand by and watch as the Order which Luke built up becomes the puppet of Cal Omas. You need to think hard and long about the choices being offered."

Jaina bows her head. "I do mom, believe me I do. Yet I can't see anything anymore. The path to travel used to be so clean and clear, and now its muddy and getting darker every day. What happens when I can no longer find the path in the Force?"

Leia wraps her arms around her daughter, and kisses her forehead. She lets Jaina go and takes a step backwards toward the ship. She glances down for a moment and then once more looks towards Jaina and in her mind's eyes sees her as a little girl, on the eve of leaving for her first school session on Yavin. "You must trust your heart."

Then she turns, and walks up the ramp, hitting the close button as soon as she is inside. She sits down at the pilot's station and looks out the viewport to see Jaina still standing there on the landing pad, her face lined with pain and rejection, nearly breaking Leia's heart.

She places her hand against the viewport, her fingers splayed, outstretched towards Jaina. "I trust you to find the way. I love you."

Jaina nods her head almost as if she had heard, and Leia activates the repulsers. The _Alderaan_ slowly lifts from the pad, and as soon as Leia gets above building height, she punches the sublight engines, and the sleek craft rockets towards space. Sniffling slightly, she enters the coordinates for Corellia and pulls the hyperspace levers.

---------------------------------------------------------

The Hand of Thrawn, Niruan

Jagged Fel sits beside his father in the briefing room, watching the holonet monitor as Wedge's speech is repeated. As it ends, he shifts in his seat, allowing his eyes to flicker between the various humans and Chiss seated at the table around him. Finally his gaze falls on his father. Soontir Fel appears to have aged a decade in the past two weeks. A haunted look often appears on his face, and he has taken to sighing at strange times. His father looks up from the monitor, and glances once at Jagged and then at the other officers at the table.

Finally his father stands. "So, is there any doubt in any of our minds that the Federation will attack Corellia?"

Shawnkry looks at the general and responds, "No sir."

"Good, now we have one more speech to watch." Then he turns the monitor back on, this time revealing the Queen Mother of Hapes as she announces the creation of a new Confederation of Independent Systems. As that speech is finished, Soontir once more turns his attention towards the officers.

"We are loosely coupled with the Galactic Federation now. Since we are not an actual member state, we do not fall under the jurisdiction of that inane law. Yet I fear what it means for us in the future. We see that they will move against Corellia, if not now then shortly in the future. How much longer before they do the same to us?"

General Rtyhmthi'man'kryst allows a slight frown to come to his impassive face. "Are you suggesting we attack first General?"

Soontir raises an eyebrow. "Not at all. I am merely suggesting that we become members of the Confederation. What they are basically offering is a mutual aggression treaty, basically if someone attacks them, then it is legally the same thing as them attacking us and vice versa."

Thimank shakes his head. "The Chiss have jealously guarded our sovereignty for centuries. Why should we change this now?"

Jagged speaks up at this point. "Because if we do not do this, sooner or later we become the biggest arms producer that is not the Federation. How long do you think it will be before they decide that we are a threat that must be dealt with?"

Thimank turns his attention onto Jag. "Then why should we not wait until then to fight? Why put ourselves at risk now?"

"Because, now we have potential allies to help us. Remember General, for every ship we have, the Federation has thousands. We cannot hope to fight them alone."

-------------------------------------------

Coronet City, Corellia

Kyp Durron stands in the shadows of the government building, watching the exit waiting for someone to come out. He sighs slightly, wondering if Han will ever appear.

Getting impatient, he begins rocking on the balls of his feet, and lets out a pent up breath when he sees the door to the building swing open. A man in his mid sixties walks out of the building. Kyp growls slightly as he realizes that it is not Han.

After a moment more, he grins as he realizes that it is the person he really wanted to talk to in the first place. Wedge Antilles.

He pulls the Force to him, and rushes towards Wedge's speeder, jumping into the passenger seat at the same second that Wedge settles himself into the driver's seat.

"Hello Diktat Antilles."

Wedge turns to look at the rogue Jedi Master and a frown flickers onto his face. "What do you want Durron? Don't tell me that the Jedi have resorted to assassination."

Kyp laughs slightly as he shakes his head. "Nothing like that Diktat. In fact I've resigned from the Order. I'm here to offer you my services."

Wedge glances towards Kyp, his frown filtering down into a full scowl. "I'm not sure about that Durron."

Kyp shrugs his shoulders. "I know we've had our issues in the past Diktat, but Cal has taken direct control of the Jedi Council. You know it is only a matter of time before they get integrated in with the military. Use me, I believe in what you're doing here."

Wedge starts up the speeder a sort of angry, disgusted scowl lingering on his face. "Fine. I was going to go see Han anyways."

Kyp grins. "Thank you, Diktat."

Wedge makes a noncommittal noise and pulls on the stick, lifting the speeder up and heading towards the Military Command Complex.

----------------------------------------

Tatooine

The _Pulsar Skate_ slowly settles to the hard packed sand in front of the Skywalker Homestead. Ben looks over at the _Jade Shadow_ where she sits a few meters away from the _Skate_.

He frowns, as he notices the sand piled high against the port side of the starship. Jysella looks at him, and notices the face he is making.

"What's wrong Ben?"

He gestures out toward the_ Shadow_. "Mom's ship. Before Ossus, she'd have never allowed her to get in that sort of shape."

She reaches over and grabs his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before standing. She looks towards the homestead and sees four figures coming out from the underground chambers, three adults and Ben's sister Padmé. "I wonder who the guest is."

Ben looks out the viewport, and one of his brows hitches slightly as he leans forward. "It looks like Tahiri."

Jysella bits her bottom lip for a second, her eyes flickering from Tahiri to Ben and then back. After a second she blows out her breath, an almost sigh. "Well let's go see shall we?"

Ben looks at her, feeling the wall she has in place over her feelings, and he nods his head. "Let's."

He stands and holds out his hand to her. After a second she reaches out and grasps it as they head towards the ramp. The ramp lowers and hand in hand they walk down it, heading towards Ben's family. A blur of a two-year-old appears rushing towards them, screaming.

"Jella!"

Jysella laughs, and drops Ben's hand, reaching down and picking up the happy toddler.

Ben continues down the ramp, heading towards his parents, never seeing the frown which appears on and disappears from Jysella's face. He reaches the bottom and throws his arms around both of his parents, sighing deeply. His parents return the embrace, and a few moments later Ben lets go, and turns towards Jysella, holding out his hand for her again.


End file.
